From Food to Data: DoorDash’s New App Lets Dashers Get Paid for AI Training

The food delivery company DoorDash is officially expanding beyond restaurant orders. It is stepping into the artificial intelligence data market. DoorDash has launched a new standalone app called DoorDash Tasks. This app pays participating delivery drivers to complete short, real-world assignments that help gather essential training data for machine learning systems.

DoorDash courier partners can now earn extra money by submitting original images, videos, and audio clips between their usual food drop-offs.

DoorDash’s Tasks app utilizes its massive existing network for data collection

Instead of relying mainly on specialized data firms, DoorDash is using its massive existing network of over eight million independent contractors for the new Tasks app initiative. The new app works directly alongside normal delivery requests. Food or grocery delivery drivers can view the specific requirements of a task, apart from the exact payout amounts upfront, before deciding to accept it. The payout generally depends on the complexity and time required to complete each job. 

The main assignments in the Tasks application vary widely in scope. The company might ask a driver to photograph a restaurant menu to verify current prices. The app might ask them to capture images of specific items on a retail store shelf. Some tasks go a step beyond basic data collection. DoorDash is actively paying couriers to photograph themselves performing simple household chores.

For example, a driver can record a video showing how they wash a set of dishes. This visual information provides an important foundation for teaching robotics systems how people interact with physical objects in normal environments.

DoorDash’s new initiative serves a growing industry need

In the world of AI, developers need a massive amount of diverse, real-world data to build accurate machine learning models. DoorDash’s latest initiative serves these requirements by crowdsourcing this information. It can quickly supply its technology collaborators across retail, insurance, and hospitality sectors with important on-the-ground, real-time insights.

DoorDash has started rolling out the new program in select locations in the US. The initiative isn’t available in California, New York City, Seattle, or Colorado. The company said it plans to expand the new Tasks initiative to more countries and more task types in the future.

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