OpenAI is reportedly asking contractors to upload real work from past jobs
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In Brief Posted: 1:18 PM PST · January 10, 2026 Image Credits:Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images Anthony Ha OpenAI is reportedly asking contractors to upload real work from past jobs OpenAI reportedly asking contractors to upload real work from past jobs OpenAI and training data company Handshake AI are asking third-party contractors to upload real work that they did in past and current jobs, according to a report in Wired. This appears to be part of a larger strategy across AI companies that are hiring contractors to generate high-quality training data in the hopes that this will eventually allow their models to automate more white-collar work. In OpenAI’s case, a company presentation reportedly asks contractors to describe tasks they’ve performed at other jobs and upload examples of “real, on-the-job work” that they’ve “actually done.” These examples can include “a concrete output (not a summary of the file, but the actual file), e.g., Word doc, PDF, Powerpoint, Excel, image, repo.” The company reportedly instructs contractors to delete proprietary and personally identifiable information before uploading, and it points them to a ChatGPT “Superstar Scrubbing” tool to do so. Nonetheless, intellectual property lawyer Evan Brown told Wired that any AI lab taking this approach is “putting itself at great risk” with an approach that requires “a lot of trust in its contractors to decide what is and isn’t confidential.” An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment. Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026 WAITLIST NOW Topics AI, handshake ai, OpenAI Dates TBD Locations TBA Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
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