S'pore app pays users for data samples to train AI assistants

Users earn digital coins or cash for tasks like recording their voices, labelling pictures

- Osmond Chia

A Singapore start-up has turned to the public to build an army of data trainers, who earn "pocket money" by performing tasks such as recording their voices and labelling pictures.

And anyone with a smartphone - even those who are not tech-savvy - can perform these tasks using the Tictag app, earning several cents to a few dollars each time.

The data collected is used to train artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistants and image recognition technologies in speech and language, safety monitoring and computer vision.

The app has gained at least 20,000 users on Android and iOS since its 2021 release, and Tictag has paid out about $24,000 in all, said Mr Kevin Quah, chief executive and co-founder of Tagteam Technologies, the firm behind Tictag.

The start-up assists tech firms in collecting data, labelling datasets and training AI models.

For instance, some of Tagteam's clients use AI-powered camera systems to identify whether their employees are wearing protective gear or entering hazardous zones.

Other clients use voice recordings to train AI systems to estimate a user's age based solely on their voice, for age verification and other purposes.

Data training has traditionally been the job of data scientists and annotators.