Workers at textile factories in Karur, India are being outfitted with recording devices such as GoPros and smart glasses to capture their job movements, which are then used to train artificial intelligence robots. Many workers, including 10-year veterans earning modest monthly wages, were not informed that their movements would be recorded for this purpose. The practice became a subject of public attention following viral videos earlier this year showing rows of factory workers wearing the headsets.
India has emerged as a significant location for collecting this type of training footage, known as egocentric data, due to its large population, lower labor costs, and receptiveness to technological innovation. Artificial intelligence systems require millions of hours of human movement data to develop the motor skills needed to perform complex physical tasks. Some workers are compensated hourly for their participation, while others like Kirubakaran appear to be recording without explanation or additional compensation. Technology researchers and policy advocates have raised concerns about whether this constitutes labor exploitation and whether India’s workforce and education systems can adapt to potential large-scale job displacement.
However, widespread deployment of AI robots in India may not occur in the immediate future. The high cost of robots combined with expensive and unreliable power infrastructure in many parts of India means human workers remain more economical. Companies like Objectways, an Indian firm collecting this data, also train robots to perform specialized tasks that are difficult to find workers for, such as rubber tapping or solar panel maintenance in remote areas, rather than replacing existing jobs.
Other applications include domestic robotics, with data collection operations mimicking residential spaces to teach robots household tasks like folding towels and unpacking items. These domestic robots are already being sold commercially, with some models priced at $20,000. Whether India’s policy infrastructure can support worker retraining and job transition programs remains uncertain among economists and technology analysts studying the implications of these developments.
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