OpenAI is reportedly asking contractors to upload real work from past jobs

OpenAI and training data firm Handshake AI are reportedly asking third-party contractors to upload real work they have completed in past and current roles, according to a Wired report.

The request appears to be part of a broader strategy across the artificial intelligence industry, as companies increasingly rely on contractors to produce high-quality training data. The goal, according to the report, is to help AI models learn from realistic professional outputs so they can eventually automate more white-collar tasks.

In OpenAI’s case, a company presentation reviewed by Wired reportedly instructs contractors to describe tasks they performed in other roles and to upload examples of “real, on-the-job work” they have “actually done.” These materials can include complete files rather than summaries, such as Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, images, or code repositories.

The company reportedly tells contractors to remove proprietary material and personally identifiable information before submitting any files. To support this process, OpenAI directs contractors to a ChatGPT feature called “Superstar Scrubbing.”

Despite these safeguards, concerns remain. Intellectual property lawyer Evan Brown told Wired that any AI lab using this approach is “putting itself at great risk,” noting that it requires “a lot of trust in its contractors to decide what is and isn’t confidential.”

An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment on the report.