Startup offers free apartment cleaning in exchange for AI data

A German startup called MicroAGI has launched a free apartmentcleaning service in New York City that records cleaners at work to collect training data for AI systems. The service, run through the Shift app, sends vetted cleaners into homes with headmounted cameras that capture the job from a firstperson perspective. The company says the footage can be sold to AI labs and used in its own research, helping offset the cost of the cleaning. MicroAGI says it has already paid workers around the world to film everyday tasks and claims strong early demand for the New York launch, with more cities planned next. The move highlights a growing trend in AI toward collecting data from realworld human work rather than only from online content.