OpenAI Is Paying Freelancers $50-$500/Hour to Train ChatGPT on Niche Professions From Farming to Commercial Aviation

Under a project called Stagecraft, OpenAI is working with data-labeling startup Handshake AI to pay 3,000 to 4,000 freelance specialists at least $50 an hour to create realistic work simulations across hundreds of occupations including animal husbandry, soil science, music composition, and commercial flying, with the goal of training ChatGPT to understand real-world professional workflows. Contractors are directed to develop a persona, define goals and deliverables, and write prompts that simulate actual on-the-job tasks, with each submission going through two Handshake reviews and a third review by OpenAI before being used for training. One contractor summed up the irony plainly: “We all were aware that we were basically training AI to replace us.”