DoorDash launches Tasks app that pays couriers to film everyday activities for AI training
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DoorDash launches a new 'Tasks' app that pays couriers to submit videos to train AI | TechCrunch
DoorDash announced on Thursday that it's launching a new, standalone "Tasks" app that will allow the company to pay its delivery couriers to complete assignments aimed at improving AI and robotic systems. Delivery couriers will be able to earn money by completing activities like filming everyday
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I Tried DoorDash's Tasks App and Saw the Bleak Future of AI Gig Work
I recorded videos of myself doing laundry, scrambling eggs, and walking around the park in DoorDash's new Tasks app, where gig workers are paid to train AI. The flash from my iPhone camera illuminates my dirty socks and underwear as I hold each item up for the video recording to capture clearly.
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DoorDash's New Tasks App Will Pay You to Train AI
Expertise Smart home | Smart security | Home tech | Energy savings | A/V On Thursday, delivery platform DoorDash announced a new job expansion called Tasks, or small jobs that its Dashers can do to earn a bit of extra money. Some of these tasks are benign additions to the regular delivery app,
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DoorDash's New Paid Tasks Turn Couriers Into AI and Robot Trainers
The submitted audio and video footage will be used to evaluate in-house AI models and those used by partners in various sectors, including retail, insurance, and technology. DoorDash Inc. is paying delivery couriers in some markets to submit video clips and complete other digital tasks to help
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DoorDash will start paying gig workers for creating content to train AI models
DoorDash has launched a new option for its gig economy workers to earn some extra cash. The delivery service introduced Tasks, which it describes as "short activities Dashers can complete between deliveries or in their own time." It gives taking pictures of restaurant dishes or recording video of
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DoorDash launches Tasks
Here is one way the AI data economy works in practice in 2026: a DoorDash courier straps on a body camera, washes at least five dishes, holds each one up to the lens for a few seconds, and earns a few dollars. That footage, mundane, specific, reproducible at scale, is exactly what AI and robotics
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DoorDash is now letting its drivers train AI on the side
DoorDash delivery drivers can now add another side gig to their rotation: training AI-powered robots. The food delivery giant launched a standalone app for couriers, called Tasks, that allows the company's 8 million U.S. gig workers to earn money by recording themselves doing various tasks. The
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DoorDash Is Paying Gig Workers to Deliver Photos of Store Shelves and Restaurant Dishes to AI Models
The move signals a broader shift in gig work from only deliveries and rides to ongoing AI and retail data collection. DoorDash is turning its ranks of delivery couriers into on-demand data collectors and AI helpers. The food delivery service is now offering a new slate of short assignments that
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The Gig Economy Is Now the Training Layer for AI | PYMNTS.com
By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The company called the program Tasks, which lists digital assignments couriers
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This company's delivery drivers are being paid to help train AI, here's how
DoorDash plans a standalone app for activities like language recording. AI adoption is becoming more common day by day, as everyone tries to keep up with the future. Be it the people around you or the megacorps that run various things all over the world. While using AI has become common,
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DoorDash introduced a standalone Tasks app that pays its delivery couriers to submit videos and audio recordings for AI training. Workers can earn money filming household chores, speaking in foreign languages, or capturing everyday tasks—all to help AI and robotics systems understand the physical world.
DoorDash Expands Gig Work Beyond Delivery with New AI Training Platform
DoorDash announced Thursday the launch of its standalone Tasks app, a new platform that pays couriers to train AI by filming everyday activities and recording conversations
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. The delivery giant is tapping its 8 million Dashers across the United States to meet growing demand for unique datasets needed to train specialized generative AI models and humanoid robots4
. Workers strap smartphones to their chests and record their hands performing specific tasks like washing dishes, folding laundry, scrambling eggs, or repotting plants. "This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world," DoorDash explained in its announcement1
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Source: Wired
How the Tasks App Works and What It Pays
The Tasks app offers gig workers a range of activities spanning five major categories: household chores, handiwork projects, cooking food, location navigation, and foreign language conversations
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. Pay varies based on effort and complexity, with examples including $16 for scanning store shelves and $20 for recording spontaneous conversations in Spanish3
. One task requires couriers to capture footage of their hands washing at least five dishes while wearing a body camera, holding each clean dish in frame for several seconds4
. After onboarding by filming themselves moving three objects across a table, workers receive a free smartphone body-mount to complete additional gigs2
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Source: Engadget
Real-World Data Collection Serves Multiple Industries
The original audio and video footage submitted by gig workers will be used to evaluate both DoorDash's in-house AI models and those developed by partners in retail, insurance, hospitality, and technology sectors
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. This type of training data for robotics is particularly valuable for computer vision applications—thousands of videos showing hands clearly visible while folding laundry could teach a robot to perform the same task2
. Beyond the standalone app, DoorDash Tasks also includes assignments within the regular Dasher app, such as photographing restaurant dishes for digital menus or capturing hotel entrances to help drivers locate drop-off points more easily1
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Source: CNET
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Privacy Concerns and Geographic Restrictions Raise Questions
The Tasks app is currently available in select US markets but explicitly excludes California, New York City, Seattle, and Colorado
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. These exclusions likely relate to privacy and employment legislation in those regions, including California's ruling that identifies gig workers as independent contractors3
. When questioned about privacy protections, DoorDash stated it "maintains robust privacy safeguards across all of our products and services, including Tasks," without offering specifics3
. The app raises pressing questions about what happens when AI models are deemed sufficiently trained and whether these trained systems could contribute to job displacement in other industries.DoorDash Joins Growing Trend of AI Gig Work
DoorDash isn't alone in this approach. Uber announced plans late last year to let drivers earn extra income by uploading photos to help train AI models
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. Companies like Instacart and Scale AI have similarly tapped remote workers to create new data or validate AI outputs4
. DoorDash's partnership with Waymo, where delivery couriers are paid to close the doors of self-driving cars, is also listed as a task within the app1
. "There are more than 8 million Dashers who can reach almost anywhere in the U.S. and who want to earn flexibly beyond delivery," said Ethan Beatty, General Manager of DoorDash Tasks. "That's a powerful capability to digitize the physical world"1
. The company plans to expand into more task types and countries as demand for machine learning training data continues to grow5
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