One night in May, a calendar invite titled “Project Sandbox Kickoff” arrived in the inboxes of some AI training contractors who worked for Uber.
It came as a surprise to some, as they hadn’t heard from the company in months.
“I thought, ‘This is a job I’ve been hearing about since December, and now I’m finally getting a call,'” one contractor told Business Insider. he He had been approved to start working for Uber in December, but had not received any work since then.
Uber has long used independent contractor drivers to deliver passengers and burritos. Now, Uber is expanding its gig-work model into white-collar jobs such as AI training for clients, part of the company’s efforts to become a “platform for work,” as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said last year.
Companies such as Mercor and Snorkel AI specialize in AI training work and are entering the competitive space. Uber has been actively recruiting contractors with PhDs to take on the work since late last year, Business Insider previously reported.
work is attractive Guggenheim Securities analyst Taylor Manley told Business Insider:
“Many AI engineers probably have higher income potential through that form compared to traditional full-time employment,” Manley said.
Four employees (two current employees and two recently laid off by Uber) said the job paid more per hour than similar AI training positions they had previously held. The workers began contracts with Uber and Google between December and May of last year. Three of the contractors worked on projects for Google, including Project Magi, the search giant’s effort to add AI responses to search results.
Meanwhile, contractors say chaotic schedules, sudden changes, such as those who started working with Uber after just a few months on the job, and a lack of training have disrupted their day-to-day experience with Uber.
Uber and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
Good pay but tight schedule
Contractors Business Insider spoke to said they were making between $50 and $150 an hour working for Uber AI Solutions, the company’s AI training business. Three of the employees previously had similar AI training contracts at other companies, where they were paid up to $30 an hour.
Uber told two employees in an email: They have flexible schedules, which is a key benefit for many gig workers, as they are expected to work 20 to 40 hours each week, and management determines the number of hours they receive.
What to note: Employees had to work at least 70% of their time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time “to facilitate real-time collaboration and regular stand-up meetings,” according to the email.
One contractor who managed a team for another Uber contractor said the customer, Google, would allocate each worker’s hours on a weekly basis. Each week’s time was usually given on the Sunday of the following week.
Some contractors had near full-time assignments, while others had zero hours assigned; I was told to check in the following week in case my time was allocated. The system involved working a set number of hours each week, unlike jobs two of the employees had at other AI training companies.
Contractors said they were expected to get to work as soon as they arrived on site. Neither Uber nor Google provided training on how to scrutinize queries or annotate data. Two of the employees said this was a big difference compared to other AI training jobs.
One of the employees, who previously trained AI for Google as a contractor for another company, told Business Insider that the orientation process lasted several days and included verifying their identity, signing a non-disclosure agreement, and being taught how to do the job.
According to the contractor, there was “no orientation, no real training” on the Uber job.
Retirement comes suddenly
The job description sent to the contractor indicated that: Their contracts would last three months, but some said their time at Uber and Google ended sooner. Last fall, Uber fired some AI contractors working on Google projects about a month into their three-month contracts, Business Insider reported in November.
A contractor who previously trained AI for Google through another company earlier this year was fired about a week into his job at Uber, according to an email shared with Business Insider. The email did not give a reason for the dismissal.
Another employee Uber hired and hired last fall. The job paid $150 an hour, but he didn’t receive a penny. In December, he received an email informing him that the project he was looking for had closed and that Uber would contact him if more work was available.
in In May, Uber emailed him a new job offer. For $10 each, users could record short clips of themselves speaking in a variety of settings, including a noisy coffee shop or a quiet library.
The contractor said he was completing the task because it was related to his experience with AI, even though it wasn’t the first job he was contracted to do.
“At least that’s what’s going to be on my resume,” he said.
An employee who received a surprise meeting invitation in May said the lack of clarity has continued since he started working for Uber. He said at least one person on the team has been laid off since he started the job. Business Insider confirmed the termination.
The contractors say no one inside Uber or Google mentioned the layoffs after they happened. He found out about it from a colleague outside of his work route.
The contractor said “nothing has been discussed.”
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