Factory workers in India are raising concerns over the growing use of wearable cameras to capture their daily tasks for artificial intelligence and robotics development. A Guardian investigation found that workers in garment and manufacturing factories were asked to wear head-mounted cameras that recorded their movements throughout the workday. The footage, known as “egocentric data,” is used to train AI systems and humanoid robots to perform complex manual tasks that currently rely on human labor.
According to the investigation, many workers were not fully informed about how the recordings would be used or that the data could be sold to technology companies developing automation systems. While factories received payment for participating in the data collection, workers reported receiving no additional compensation despite generating valuable training data. The recordings also raised concerns about workplace surveillance, with some workers believing the cameras were monitoring their productivity rather than collecting information for AI development.
India has emerged as a major source of human behavioral data for AI because of its large manufacturing workforce and comparatively low data collection costs. Companies collecting these recordings argue that they obtain permission from factory management and compensate participating businesses. However, labor rights advocates question whether workers can give meaningful consent when they are not directly informed about the commercial value and long-term use of their data.
The investigation has renewed debate over workers’ rights in the age of artificial intelligence. Experts argue that existing labor protections have not kept pace with emerging forms of digital work, including the creation of datasets used to train AI and robotics. They have called for clearer standards on informed consent, data ownership, privacy, and fair compensation to ensure that workers who contribute to technological innovation also share in its benefits.
This article is based on original reporting by The Guardian: “Indian factory workers told to film themselves for AI robots,” published on 24 June 2026.
