Handshake AI offers up to $30,000 for professional files

Handshake AI is seeking professionals willing to provide written work documents to train its systems, offering compensation of $6 per page with a cap of $30,000. The company requires contributors to hold the rights to the files and be authorized to share them. A data protection lawyer highlights ambiguities regarding usage, ownership, and the presence of confidential data, as no verification method for ownership has been detailed.

Uncertainties Regarding Usage, Ownership, and Verification

Thomas Ahlering, a partner at King & Spalding and a data protection specialist, points out several uncertainties. He believes that the purpose of training and the destination of the documents are not clearly explained, including the question of potential data transfer beyond Handshake AI's models. He also raises concerns about copyright risks and questions both the actual ownership of the submitted documents and the existence of controls to prevent the transmission of confidential information. A company representative did not provide a response regarding the verification of file ownership. Regarding the content, he cites gray areas, such as work done for clients or personal documents containing sensitive information about past cases. Conversely, some cases seem to be best avoided outright, such as documents produced for an employer, which likely belong to the company. He finally deems it irrelevant to seek a transfer of rights from a manager, as most employers are likely to be reluctant.

Desired Profiles and Accepted Formats

The offer targets individuals with professional experience in consulting, finance, law, software development, or data science. Applicants must hold the rights to the submitted documents and be authorized to transmit them. The sought formats are written texts, in the form of Word or PDF files; presentations and slideshows are generally excluded. Only accepted pages will be compensated, with no acceptance criteria specified.

Compensation: $6 per Page, Capped at $30,000

The announced compensation is $6 per accepted page, for a maximum of 50 documents, each of which can contain up to 100 pages. The total payment is capped at $30,000, an amount also promised for high-quality written documents.

A Temporary Role in a Data-Hungry Sector

This is not a full-time job: candidates submit their information only once and, if selected, may be invited to contribute when projects arise. More broadly, AI training companies pay for access to vast datasets, often applying strict rules that may limit payments. Handshake AI is thus looking to recruit contributors of professional documents to train its systems.