Mercor’s 60 Minutes moment puts the humans behind AI in the spotlight

Key Summary

Mercor, a San Francisco-based company, has gained attention after being featured in a 60 Minutes segment, highlighting its network of over 100,000 freelancers providing expertise to make AI models smarter through reinforcement learning from human feedback. The company supplies experts for model evaluations, which involve structured tests to check the output of AI systems. Approximately 30,000 contractors are active on a weekly basis, earning an average of $95 per hour, with daily payouts ranging from $1.5 million to $4 million. Mercor was founded in 2023 and has since reached a $10 billion valuation, with its annualized revenue run rate estimated at around $2 billion. The company's business model has sparked debate among experts, with some celebrating the productivity revolution and others warning of potential job displacement amidst widespread AI adoption.