Consumer Tech

DoorDash’s New Paid Tasks Turn Couriers Into AI and Robot Trainers

A delivery worker carries a DoorDash bag in New York on April 29, 2024.

Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

DoorDash Inc. is paying delivery couriers in some markets to submit video clips and complete other digital tasks to help improve artificial intelligence and robotics models, following competitors that have found creative new uses for gig workers in the AI boom.

The delivery company has launched a new app called Tasks for those efforts, listing paid opportunities for activities such as recording an unscripted conversation in Spanish, or filming themselves completing various household chores like loading a dishwasher, handwashing dishes or folding clothes.