Workers are getting paid to train artificial intelligence (1) systems to think more like humans and in some cases, they’re teaching machines how to do the very jobs they once feared AI would replace.
That’s what happened to Hollywood writer and showrunner Ruth Fowler. In 2023, entertainment workers (2) went on strike in part over fears that studios could use AI to replace writers and actors. But after the strike ended, the work didn’t fully return. When another producer defaulted on a six-figure payment she was owed, Fowler found herself searching for a way to stay afloat.
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“I was down for some easy money. I too needed cash to pay rent, to buy food,” Fowler wrote in an essay for Wired (3). “How hard could it be to teach a machine to take my job? I was naive enough to believe that this industry wanted what we had to offer—not just our skills, but us.”
But it wasn’t just writers. Companies are recruiting lawyers, doctors, venture capitalists, coders and foreign-language speakers to help train AI systems.
A new kind of side hustle
One company leaning into this trend is Mercor (4), whose pitch to workers is simple: “get paid to work on AI projects.” One current listing for its Physician Talent Network (5) advertises pay up to $250 an hour for doctors helping train AI systems through medical scenarios, response reviews and expert feedback.
And experts say demand for these roles is only expected to grow as AI systems evolve. As many large language models have already been trained on vast amounts of existing online information, the next phase of development increasingly relies on human input to fine-tune responses, improve accuracy and help systems perform better in specialized areas.
Mercor CEO Brendan Foody told CBS News (6) the company wants expertise from nearly every field.
“We hire everyone ranging from chess champions to wine hobbyists to help train [AI] agents to be better, because ultimately we want them to know how to give better advice in a chess match or recommend what wine you should have with dinner,” he said.
Hollywood writer Robin Palmer said she now spends roughly 30 hours a week helping train AI through projects with Mercor, evaluating whether the technology can produce stronger and more compelling creative writing.
“They’re turning in work and you’re looking at, ‘Does this work structurally, how is the characterization, are there clunky transitions?'” she told CBS News (7). “I really like seeing how AI is improving. It’s almost like working with a student and saying, ‘Yeah, you’re getting better.'”
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The fine print of AI work
For Fowler, the day-to-day reality of the work looked very different. One of her first assignments involved reviewing conversations between users and AI chatbots, rating how the systems responded to deeply personal questions and scoring answers on a scale of one to five.
But the flexibility and promise of easy money came with a reality check. Fowler recalled receiving a late-night Slack message from a team leader warning her not to rely on the work.
“These are not jobs,” Fowler recalled being told.” These are “tasks,” and we are “taskers.”
That uncertainty may be one reason many workers remain uneasy about AI’s growing role in the workplace. While these projects are creating new ways for some people to earn money, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center (8) found that more than half of employees are concerned about AI’s long-term impact at work, while nearly one-third believe the technology could eventually reduce job opportunities in the years ahead.
Opportunity or warning sign
Palmer acknowledged that some in Hollywood may view working with AI as controversial, but said she believes experienced professionals can help shape the technology responsibly, while also recognizing that AI’s growing presence in the workplace may be difficult to avoid.
“The train has left the station,” she said. “So do you want AI to be good because it’s being trained by good people, or not?”
AI training has become an unexpected income stream for some workers and a way to stay relevant as industries rapidly shift. Others see it as raising uncomfortable questions about whether they’re helping build tools that could eventually reduce demand for their own skills.
Fowler landed firmly in the second camp. After trying to make a living in the emerging AI economy, she wrote that the experience proved “more cruel than I could have ever imagined.”
“They will be tasked with making us work faster, and longer, with more precision, more control, fewer errors, fewer overheads, fewer costs. To make the machine more human, they will make us more like the machine,” she wrote.
That tension may ultimately define the next phase of AI in the workplace: some see an opportunity to adapt and cash in on a fast-growing industry, while others feel like they’re training a replacement before fully understanding what comes next.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
CBS News (1),(6),(7); Los Angeles Times (2); Wired (3); Mercor (4),(5); Pew Research Center (8)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: ‘The train has left the station’: Workers are cashing in by teaching AI to do their jobs — some earn up to $350 an hour
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
