Latest news with #Appen
Business Insider
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Appen (APPEF) Receives a Buy from Canaccord Genuity
Canaccord Genuity analyst Conor O'Prey maintained a Buy rating on Appen (APPEF – Research Report) on May 16 and set a price target of A$2.35. The company's shares closed last Wednesday at $0.76. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks straight to you inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter According to TipRanks, O'Prey is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 2.9% and a 43.10% success rate. O'Prey covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Appen, Nextdc Limited, and Megaport. Currently, the analyst consensus on Appen is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $1.51. Based on Appen's latest earnings release for the quarter ending December 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $182.84 million and a GAAP net loss of $3.41 million. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $205.49 million and had a GAAP net loss of $114.59 million
Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Meta wants your smile, squats, and small talk — and it's paying $50 an hour to scan them
What's in a smile? If you're training Meta's virtual reality avatars, it could be $50 an hour. The tech giant is recruiting adults through the data-collection and -labeling company Appen to spend hours in front of cameras and sensors to help "enhance the virtual reality of the future." Meta's avatars have come a long way since they were widely mocked on the internet nearly three years ago. Now, with 2025 internally described as Meta's "most critical year" for its metaverse ambitions, the company is betting that hyperrealistic digital avatars can drive its next wave of virtual and augmented technologies, from Quest headsets to Ray-Ban smart glasses. But to get there, Meta needs more data. Inside Project Warhol The company is paying freelancers to record their smiles, movements, and small talk as part of a data collection effort called "Project Warhol," run by Appen, which lists Meta as the client in its consent forms. Meta confirmed to Business Insider that Project Warhol is part of its effort to train Codec Avatars — a research initiative announced publicly in 2019 that aims to build photorealistic, real-time digital replicas of people for use in virtual and augmented reality. Codec Avatars are a key technology for Meta's vision of "metric telepresence," which the company says enables social presence that is "indistinguishable from reality" during virtual interactions. A Meta spokesperson told BI the company has been running similar avatar data collection studies for several years. Project Warhol appears to be the latest round of that effort. Recruitment materials invite anyone over 18 to take part in paid sessions to "assist in the bettering of avatars." The project is split into two studies — "Human Motion" and "Group Conversations" — both set to begin in September at Meta's Pittsburgh research facility. In the Human Motion study, participants would be recorded "mimicking facial expressions, reading sentences, making hand gestures," while cameras, headsets, and sensors capture their movements from every angle. The Group Conversations study would bring together two or three participants to "engage in conversations and light improv activities." Researchers are aiming to capture natural speech, gestures, and microexpressions to build avatars that are more "lifelike and immersive" in social settings. A high-stakes year for Meta The project comes in a crunch year for Meta Reality Labs, the division that oversees avatars, headsets, and smart glasses. It has accumulated more than $60 billion in losses since 2020, including a record $4.97 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. In an internal memo from November, first reported by BI, Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, said 2025 would be crucial for the metaverse's success or failure. He told staff that the company's ambitious metaverse bets could be remembered as a "legendary misadventure" if they failed. In his memo, Bosworth stressed the need to boost sales and engagement, especially in mixed reality and "Horizon Worlds." He added that Reality Labs planned to launch half a dozen more AI-powered wearable devices, though he didn't give details. In April, Meta laid off an undisclosed number of employees from Reality Labs, including teams working on VR gaming and the Supernatural fitness app. Dan Reed, the chief operating officer of Reality Labs, announced his departure weeks later after nearly 11 years with the company. The Appen project's name appears to be a nod to Andy Warhol, the Pittsburgh-born artist who famously said everyone would have "15 minutes of fame." Appen declined to comment on the project. The humans behind the scenes Project Warhol isn't the only example of Meta turning to human labor to train its technology. BI previously reported that the company enlisted contractors through the data-labeling startup Scale AI to test how its chatbot responds to emotional tones, sensitive topics, and fictional personas. And it's not just Meta. Last year, Tesla paid up to $48 an hour for " data collection operators" to wear motion-capture suits and VR headsets while performing repetitive physical tasks to help train its humanoid robot, Optimus.
Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Meta wants your smile, squats, and small talk — and it's paying $50 an hour to scan them for its next-gen VR avatars
What's in a smile? If you're training Meta's virtual reality avatars, it could be $50 an hour. The tech giant is recruiting adults through data collection and labelling company Appen to spend hours in front of cameras and sensors to help "enhance the virtual reality of the future." Meta's avatars have come a long way since they were widely mocked by the internet nearly three years ago. Now, with 2025 internally described as Meta's "most critical year" for its metaverse ambitions, the company is betting that hyper-realistic digital avatars can drive its next wave of virtual and augmented technologies, from Quest headsets to Ray-Ban smart glasses. But to get there, Meta needs more data. Inside Project Warhol The company is paying freelancers to record their smiles, movements, and small talk as part of a data-collection effort called "Project Warhol," run by Appen, which lists Meta as the client in its consent forms. Meta confirmed to Business Insider that Project Warhol is part of its ongoing effort to train Codec Avatars — a research initiative first announced publicly in 2019 that aims to build photorealistic, real-time digital replicas of people for use in virtual and augmented reality. Codec Avatars are a key technology for Meta's vision of "metric telepresence," a term the company says enables social presence that is "indistinguishable from reality" during virtual interactions. A Meta spokesperson told BI it has been running similar avatar data-collection studies for several years. Project Warhol appears to be the latest round of that ongoing effort. Recruitment materials invite anyone over 18 to take part in paid sessions to "assist in the bettering of avatars." The project is split into two studies — "Human Motion" and "Group Conversations" — both set to begin in September at Meta's Pittsburgh research facility. In the Human Motion study, participants would be recorded "mimicking facial expressions, reading sentences, making hand gestures," while cameras, headsets, and sensors capture their movements from every angle. The Group Conversations study would bring together two or three participants to "engage in conversations and light improv activities." Researchers are aiming to capture natural speech, gestures, and micro-expressions to build avatars that are more "lifelike and immersive" in social settings. A high-stakes year for Meta The project comes in a crunch year for Meta Reality Labs, the division that oversees avatars, headsets, and smart glasses. It has accumulated more than $60 billion in losses since 2020, including a record $4.97 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. In an internal November memo, first reported by BI, Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, said 2025 would be crucial for the metaverse's success or failure. He warned staff that the company's ambitious metaverse bets could be remembered as a "legendary misadventure" if they failed. In his memo, Bosworth stressed the need to boost sales and engagement, especially in mixed reality and Horizon Worlds. He also said the Reality Labs division planned to launch half a dozen more AI-powered wearable devices, though no specific details were provided. In April, BI reported that Meta laid off an undisclosed number of employees from its Reality Labs division, including teams working on VR gaming and the Supernatural fitness app. Dan Reed, the chief operating officer of Reality Labs, announced his departure weeks later after nearly 11 years with the company. The Appen project's name appears to be a nod to Andy Warhol, the Pittsburgh-born artist who famously said everyone would have "15 minutes of fame." Appen declined to a request for comment from Business Insider on the project. The humans behind the scenes Project Warhol isn't the only example of Meta turning to human labor to train its technology. BI previously reported that the company enlisted contractors through data-labelling startup Scale AI to test how its chatbot responds to emotional tones, sensitive topics, and fictional personas. And it's not just Meta. Last year, Tesla paid up to $48 an hour for " Data Collection Operators" to wear motion-capture suits and VR headsets while performing repetitive physical tasks to help train its humanoid robot, Optimus.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Texas mom made $8,000 in 3 weeks training AI at her kitchen table. She says it's 'not easy money.'
Amanda Overcash trains AI from home after clocking out from her full-time real estate job. She made nearly $8,000 in three weeks, working long days and nights. Overcash says the work is flexible but demanding, with strict audits and no long-term guarantees. Amanda Overcash, a single mom in Texas, spends her days working in real estate. At night, after her daughter has gone to bed, she opens up her laptop at the kitchen table and starts her second job: training AI. Headphones in and wearing pajamas, Overcash spends hours reviewing chatbot responses, transcribing audio clips, and labeling images. "Sometimes, I'm at the kitchen table until midnight," she told Business Insider. Other nights, she sets a 4 a.m. alarm to fit in an extra hour before her day job. Overcash is part of a global, largely invisible workforce that underpins the AI boom, working to improve how models respond in the real world. While some contract workers training AI have had negative experiences, Overcash says hers has been largely positive. And it can pay well — up to $40 an hour. Last summer, Overcash earned nearly $8,000 in under three weeks from writing and rating chatbot responses. She told BI the job isn't as easy as some people online make it out to be and that it's not a "get rich quick" scheme. Some projects can be demanding, the audit processes can be tough, and juggling it alongside a full-time job can risk burnout. Overcash, who is in her 30s, has spent over six years in the AI data industry and taken on projects like ad moderation, transcription, and prompt evaluation. Like many freelancers in the space, she juggles work across multiple platforms — a setup Business Insider has verified. Platforms like Appen, OneForma, Prolific, Outlier (owned by Scale AI), and Amazon Mechanical Turk rely on freelancers like Overcash to train and test AI models and products. Appen alone has a base of over 1 million contractors in 200 countries, according to its website. Across different platforms and projects, contributors might label satellite images, transcribe voice memos, review chatbot outputs, and even upload pet videos. Pay rates depend on the project and its level of difficulty, Overcash said. "LLM projects usually pay closer to $20 an hour," she said, referring to large language models, which power generative AI, "while social media or transcription ones can be anywhere from $9 to $11. But the LLM stuff is a lot more difficult and extensive." An Appen spokesperson told BI that although the industry is trending away from simpler data annotation tasks to "more complex" generative AI work, "human expertise remains essential to AI model development." Right now, Overcash is working on two main projects. One involves transcribing casual voice memos, clips that sound like WhatsApp messages, often recorded in cafés, cars, or noisy kitchens. "They're supposed to sound natural," she said. "But it's hard sometimes. You hear street noise, people eating, conversations in the background." She's also reviewing social media ads. She opens each one, watches the video or reads the caption, and then answers a series of yes/no questions about nudity, profanity, misleading claims, age appropriateness, and whether she enjoyed the ad. Based on those factors, each ad gets a star rating. She said this type of job is one of her favorites because she doesn't have to second-guess her answers as much. "It's easy work. If you get in a rhythm, you can move fast," she said. Other projects are more intense and demanding. Last summer, Overcash worked up to 16 hours a day on a chatbot evaluation project. She started at $22 an hour, which increased to $40 an hour as the project went on, bringing in nearly $8,000 in under three weeks. (BI has verified copies of her pay slips.) The job involved reviewing chatbot answers to medical questions, political statements, and personal advice and flagging anything misleading or unsafe. "If someone asked about a lump on their breast and the bot didn't tell them to seek medical attention, I had to mark it as unsafe," she said. Overcash recalled working quickly because of strict time limits on prompts, with usually four to six minutes per review. At times, the work can be rewarding. "When you get into the flow, it feels good," Overcash said. "You're focused, you know exactly what you're doing — I like that about it." She also enjoys the variety. "If you're good at transcribing, or labeling, or languages, there's something for you," she said. "Some projects are so easy, I could teach my teenager to do them." But she's clear about the trade-offs. "Forty dollars an hour sounds great, but when you're glued to your laptop all day, it doesn't feel like easy money," she said. "This is still work — and it can be stressful. It's definitely not a fast way to make money." Getting onto projects isn't easy. Overcash said many platforms require rigorous literacy and guideline tests, which are assessments based on lengthy instruction manuals that outline how to rate or label different types of content. Passing them is often required before starting paid work, and getting to that point can take time, especially when there are long waitlists. "It's a grueling process to get on," she said. "Some tests took me days to complete." Once accepted onto a platform, the pressure doesn't let up. Contractors at some companies are audited regularly, she said — sometimes without warning and usually without much feedback. A single failed audit, Overcash said, can cost freelancers access to work for the day — or get them removed entirely from a project. "You think you're doing great," she said. "Then you get hit with a bad test result. If your scores drop, they'll cut you." Overcash said she burned out two years ago and had to reduce her AI side hustle. Now, she sets clearer boundaries to avoid getting overwhelmed. "My rule is I don't work weekends," she said. "Even if I haven't hit my hours." That time, she said, is reserved for her daughter. She said her hours are flexible. "Some days I'll do two hours. Other days I'll hit eight." Not every experience in this space is positive. Overcash said she's mostly had good projects, but she knows the industry can be unpredictable. Some platforms have come under scrutiny. Scale AI, one of the biggest players in the industry, is facing multiple lawsuits from taskers, some of whom say they were exposed to harmful prompts involving suicide, domestic violence, and animal abuse without adequate mental health support. The company is also under investigation by the US Department of Labor for its use of contractors. Scale AI previously told BI it would continue to defend itself against what it sees as false or misleading allegations about its business practices. Overcash said she finds value in the work she does across various platforms. "It's definitely made me sharper. I've gotten better at spotting issues or bias in language just from doing this for so long." Even though the job isn't always easy, it offers what she needs: flexibility, steady income, and control over her time. "It's not a fast way to make money," she said. "But if you get into a rhythm, it helps. It's helped me pay bills, stay afloat, and show up for my daughter." Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ewebb@ or Signal at efw.40. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
This Texas mom made $8,000 in 3 weeks training AI at her kitchen table. She says it's 'not easy money.'
Amanda Overcash, a single mom in Texas, spends her days working in real estate. At night, after her daughter has gone to bed, she opens up her laptop at the kitchen table and starts her second job: training AI. Headphones in and wearing pajamas, Overcash spends hours reviewing chatbot responses, transcribing audio clips, and labeling images. "Sometimes, I'm at the kitchen table until midnight," she told Business Insider. Other nights, she sets a 4 a.m. alarm to fit in an extra hour before her day job. Overcash is part of a global, largely invisible workforce that underpins the AI boom, working to improve how models respond in the real world. While some contract workers training AI have had negative experiences, Overcash says hers has been largely positive. And it can pay well — up to $40 an hour. Last summer, Overcash earned nearly $8,000 in under three weeks from writing and rating chatbot responses. She told BI the job isn't as easy as some people online make it out to be and that it's not a "get rich quick" scheme. Some projects can be demanding, the audit processes can be tough, and juggling it alongside a full-time job can risk burnout. She juggles various projects on multiple platforms Overcash, who is in her 30s, has spent over six years in the AI data industry and taken on projects like ad moderation, transcription, and prompt evaluation. Like many freelancers in the space, she juggles work across multiple platforms — a setup Business Insider has verified. Platforms like Appen, OneForma, Prolific, Outlier (owned by Scale AI), and Amazon Mechanical Turk rely on freelancers like Overcash to train and test AI models and products. Appen alone has a base of over 1 million contractors in 200 countries, according to its website. Across different platforms and projects, contributors might label satellite images, transcribe voice memos, review chatbot outputs, and even upload pet videos. Pay rates depend on the project and its level of difficulty, Overcash said. "LLM projects usually pay closer to $20 an hour," she said, referring to large language models, which power generative AI, "while social media or transcription ones can be anywhere from $9 to $11. But the LLM stuff is a lot more difficult and extensive." An Appen spokesperson told BI that although the industry is trending away from simpler data annotation tasks to "more complex" generative AI work, "human expertise remains essential to AI model development." She reviews chatbot answers, voice memos, and social media ads Right now, Overcash is working on two main projects. One involves transcribing casual voice memos, clips that sound like WhatsApp messages, often recorded in cafés, cars, or noisy kitchens. "They're supposed to sound natural," she said. "But it's hard sometimes. You hear street noise, people eating, conversations in the background." She's also reviewing social media ads. She opens each one, watches the video or reads the caption, and then answers a series of yes/no questions about nudity, profanity, misleading claims, age appropriateness, and whether she enjoyed the ad. Based on those factors, each ad gets a star rating. She said this type of job is one of her favorites because she doesn't have to second-guess her answers as much. "It's easy work. If you get in a rhythm, you can move fast," she said. She made nearly $8,000 in 3 weeks Other projects are more intense and demanding. Last summer, Overcash worked up to 16 hours a day on a chatbot evaluation project. She started at $22 an hour, which increased to $40 an hour as the project went on, bringing in nearly $8,000 in under three weeks. (BI has verified copies of her pay slips.) The job involved reviewing chatbot answers to medical questions, political statements, and personal advice and flagging anything misleading or unsafe. "If someone asked about a lump on their breast and the bot didn't tell them to seek medical attention, I had to mark it as unsafe," she said. Overcash recalled working quickly because of strict time limits on prompts, with usually four to six minutes per review. 'It doesn't feel like easy money' At times, the work can be rewarding. "When you get into the flow, it feels good," Overcash said. "You're focused, you know exactly what you're doing — I like that about it." She also enjoys the variety. "If you're good at transcribing, or labeling, or languages, there's something for you," she said. "Some projects are so easy, I could teach my teenager to do them." But she's clear about the trade-offs. "Forty dollars an hour sounds great, but when you're glued to your laptop all day, it doesn't feel like easy money," she said. "This is still work — and it can be stressful. It's definitely not a fast way to make money." The onboarding and audits are tough Getting onto projects isn't easy. Overcash said many platforms require rigorous literacy and guideline tests, which are assessments based on lengthy instruction manuals that outline how to rate or label different types of content. Passing them is often required before starting paid work, and getting to that point can take time, especially when there are long waitlists. "It's a grueling process to get on," she said. "Some tests took me days to complete." Once accepted onto a platform, the pressure doesn't let up. Contractors at some companies are audited regularly, she said — sometimes without warning and usually without much feedback. A single failed audit, Overcash said, can cost freelancers access to work for the day — or get them removed entirely from a project. "You think you're doing great," she said. "Then you get hit with a bad test result. If your scores drop, they'll cut you." She balances multiple jobs, but knows her limits Overcash said she burned out two years ago and had to reduce her AI side hustle. Now, she sets clearer boundaries to avoid getting overwhelmed. "My rule is I don't work weekends," she said. "Even if I haven't hit my hours." That time, she said, is reserved for her daughter. She said her hours are flexible. "Some days I'll do two hours. Other days I'll hit eight." Not every experience in this space is positive. Overcash said she's mostly had good projects, but she knows the industry can be unpredictable. Some platforms have come under scrutiny. Scale AI, one of the biggest players in the industry, is facing multiple lawsuits from taskers, some of whom say they were exposed to harmful prompts involving suicide, domestic violence, and animal abuse without adequate mental health support. The company is also under investigation by the US Department of Labor for its use of contractors. Scale AI previously told BI it would continue to defend itself against what it sees as false or misleading allegations about its business practices. Overcash said she finds value in the work she does across various platforms. "It's definitely made me sharper. I've gotten better at spotting issues or bias in language just from doing this for so long." Even though the job isn't always easy, it offers what she needs: flexibility, steady income, and control over her time. "It's not a fast way to make money," she said. "But if you get into a rhythm, it helps. It's helped me pay bills, stay afloat, and show up for my daughter."
