THE CRUNCH
An AI data company called HUMXN is offering free home services in three US cities, in exchange for recording the work. Homeowners can get plumbing, electrical, HVAC, air-duct cleaning or carpet cleaning done at no cost if they let a technician wearing "wearable capture technology" carry out the job on their property. The recordings are meant to teach AI robots how skilled people interact with the physical world.
HUMXN founder Thomas Unise argued that the next generation of AI needs more than text and images scraped from the internet, and that very little of skilled workers' expertise currently exists in a format AI systems can learn from. He said the company wants to build infrastructure connecting that knowledge with robot makers while ensuring the workers who create the value share in the economics.
The company says natural movements are hard to capture in lab settings, so real homes give it variety across equipment types, problems, technicians and environments. The footage is also meant to show the full process: assessing a situation, testing systems, choosing tools, adapting to changing conditions and judging whether the job was done properly.
The programme launches in Minneapolis, Chicago and Miami, chosen for their very different climates. Residents can check eligibility on the HUMXN Free Home Service webpage. Homeowners get free qualifying work while service professionals still get paid; in effect, HUMXN is paying residents for the right to record on their premises.
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