AI robots aren’t bad at folding towels, just the guys controlling them

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Competition in the field of artificial intelligence is intensifying, especially with the rise of robot assistants. These robots are learning by studying how real people perform everyday jobs.

Nilesh Christopher, a Los Angeles Times reporter, recently published a popular investigation exploring the growing world of AI “arm farms” and how these advanced robots function.

Last month, FigureAI unveiled its ‘Figure 03’ robot, which the company says can perform everyday tasks like doing dishes, laundry, and folding clothes.

Shortly after, 1X presented NEO, their humanoid robot designed to be a butler and companion. However, one of its capabilities sparked discussion and some concern online.

The NEO robot can work independently, but users have the option to enable ‘Expert’ mode, letting a 1X employee control it from a distance.

I always thought those home helper robots would be totally independent, doing everything on their own. But it turns out, there are actually people controlling them from somewhere else! It’s a little unsettling to think about someone halfway around the world being ‘inside’ my house, even remotely. Still, I guess that’s how these things will probably work at first, before they get smart enough to handle everything themselves.

AI robots powered by “arm farms” and human operators, LA Times discovers

For a recent Los Angeles Times report, Christopher interviewed several AI specialists. Ulrik Stig Hansen, co-founder of the data platform Encord, mentioned plans to construct large facilities in Eastern Europe. These would employ people to remotely control and oversee AI-powered robot assistants.

Christopher also found “AI training farms” – companies that hire people to wear cameras and record themselves doing everyday activities. This footage is used to teach robots how to perform similar tasks.

One task involves repeatedly folding towels, providing artificial intelligence with the data needed to teach robots how to fold clothes expertly. For example, a company called ObjectWays makes its workers restart if a towel takes longer than a minute to fold, or if it’s not folded correctly.

Interestingly, the majority of employees responsible for folding towels are actually engineers. Christopher observed that they aren’t accustomed to manual tasks, so they rotate the chore during their work shifts.

An ObjectWays worker explained that they often have to remove around 150 to 200 videos due to minor mistakes in how products are packed or arranged.

It’s kinda creepy how much data companies are collecting these days. I was reading about some startups, and it’s wild. One, called Micro1, actually pays people to wear smart glasses and record everything they do! Then there’s FigureAI, and they’re working with a real estate company to film how people move around inside 100,000 homes – all to teach robots how to navigate houses. Seriously, it feels like we’re living in a sci-fi movie!

I recently wrote a piece for the Los Angeles Times about a fascinating trend in southern India. There, young engineers are using themselves as teachers for humanoid robots. They wear GoPros to record their movements while performing everyday tasks like folding laundry and packing boxes, essentially showing the robots how to do chores.

— Nilesh Christopher (@NilChristopher) November 3, 2025

Mohammad Musa, founder of Deepen AI, explains that the robots are currently controlled remotely and learn from data gathered outside of Western countries. However, he believes this will shift in the future.

Currently, companies are using a combination of real-world and computer-generated data, collected from things like observing people, remote control operations, and created scenarios, he explained. While a lot of this data collection still happens outside of Western countries, increasing automation and the use of simulations are gradually lessening that reliance.

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2025-11-05 00:20