With a smartphone strapped to her head, Sriramyachandra records first-person videos from her kitchen in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, earning 250 rupees, approximately 2.6 US dollars, for one hour of recording. Her routine domestic work has become valuable training material for global technology companies developing advanced robotic systems.
She is part of a growing workforce of thousands of AI system trainers in India, where individuals are employed to generate “egocentric data,” a form of first-person visual input used to teach machines how humans perceive and interact with their surroundings.
“Who else will give you 250 rupees an hour just for doing housework?” Sriramyachandra said from her home kitchen, describing how she operates a head-mounted recording setup connected to a dedicated application used to upload footage to an AI data company that operates in both India and the United States and serves Fortune 500 clients.
The demand for such data is increasing as developers aim to advance robotics capable of functioning in complex physical environments. Unlike chatbots and image generators that rely on large-scale digital datasets, humanoid robots require real-world behavioral data to learn movement and spatial interaction.
Industry projections indicate that more than one billion humanoid robots could be in use by 2050, primarily across industrial and commercial sectors. Against this backdrop, India has positioned itself as a major global hub for AI data creation, processing, and annotation services.
“It blares ‘hands not detected’ when I am not recording properly,” Sriramyachandra added, referring to the system’s feedback mechanism that ensures correct data capture during recording sessions.
Experts note that this emerging segment of digital labor is expected to expand significantly. Aditi Surie, a digital labor specialist at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bengaluru, described data collection services as a growing part of the AI supply chain.
“It is likely that these data collection services will increase,” Surie said, highlighting India’s expanding role in the global artificial intelligence ecosystem.
While the technology promises significant advancement in automation, concerns remain regarding its broader economic impact. India’s government think tank NITI Aayog has warned that most discussions on artificial intelligence and employment focus primarily on white-collar jobs, often overlooking its effects on informal labor.
The report notes that nearly 490 million informal workers form the backbone of India’s economy, yet receive limited attention in debates over automation and job displacement, urging urgent policy intervention to address potential risks.
The trend is not limited to domestic settings. In Bengaluru, 55-year-old Ponni, who has spent years making flower garlands by the roadside, has also participated in similar AI training programs using a smartphone strapped to her forehead to capture her work process.
Reflecting on the future, she said, “The next generation who may have to do work similar to mine will face difficulties.”
As artificial intelligence continues to expand into physical robotics, India’s informal workforce is increasingly becoming an essential, if understated, component in training the machines of tomorrow.
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