Free NYC Cleanings Feed Data for Future Robots

An NYC startup, Shift by Micro AGI, is offering free apartment cleaning in exchange for recording tasks with wearable cameras to collect data for training future robots; the data, anonymized and sold to robotics firms, is meant to help robots learn dexterity across varied home environments. Privacy experts warn that such "pay-for-privacy" schemes amount to surveillance and data monetization with potential privacy and employment risks, while supporters say the approach is transparent and accelerates AI-driven innovation.