Indian workers teaching AI robots how to be human

In a modest kitchen in Chennai, 25-year-old Nagireddy Sriramyachandra straps a smartphone to her head and begins a routine task: slicing mangoes. What appears to be an ordinary household chore is actually part of a growing global effort to teach artificial intelligence-powered robots how humans interact with the world.

Across India, thousands of workers are now performing everyday activities while wearing cameras, motion sensors, and smart glasses. Their movements are being recorded and transformed into valuable training data for the next generation of AI systems and humanoid robots.

For Sriramyachandra, the work offers a simple way to earn extra income.

“Who else will pay you for doing housework?” she says with a smile. For every hour of recorded footage, she earns around 250 rupees, or slightly more than two US dollars.

The videos she creates are known as “egocentric data” — first-person recordings that allow AI systems to see the world through human eyes. Technology companies believe this data will help robots learn tasks such as cooking, cleaning, folding clothes, and making coffee.

The demand for such information is growing rapidly as the global humanoid robot industry expands. Analysts predict that robots could become a common feature of workplaces and homes in the coming decades, creating an enormous need for realistic human behavioral data.

One company helping meet that demand is Objectways, a technology firm with operations in both India and the United States. Its workers record thousands of videos showing everyday activities, from preparing meals to organizing household items.

In textile factories, workers wear head-mounted cameras while carrying out routine tasks. In specialized studios designed to resemble apartments, contributors spend hours filming themselves making beds, folding towels, and arranging objects in different ways.

Twenty-one-year-old engineering graduate Rani spends much of her day recording short clips for AI systems. She films around 90 videos daily, each lasting only a few minutes.

“It feels like I’m always wearing a camera,” she says, describing the repetitive but steady work.

India has emerged as a major global hub for AI data collection, processing, and annotation. Experts say the country’s large workforce and strong technology sector make it an ideal location for companies developing advanced AI models.

Yet the rise of AI also raises concerns about the future of employment.

Many workers helping train robots understand that the technology they support may eventually automate some of the same jobs humans perform today. Still, many believe AI and people will ultimately work side by side rather than compete directly.

Industry leaders envision a future where human expertise guides intelligent machines across borders and industries. A technician in India, for example, could one day remotely supervise a robot working in Europe.

For now, however, the future of artificial intelligence depends on very human actions. Every folded towel, sliced mango, and arranged object is helping machines learn how to navigate the real world—one task at a time.