Amazon Putting End to Service It Has Offered for 21 Years

Amazon's online marketplace for tiny digital tasks is being sunsetted. The company says its Mechanical Turk service, launched in 2005 to connect businesses with people willing to do quick jobs for pennies, will shut down on Sept. 30. The company simply says the decision was made following one of its regular assessments.

CNBC reports Jeff Bezos once dubbed the platform "artificial artificial intelligence," since humans handled chores computers struggled with, from labeling images to transcribing audio. At its peak, MTurk counted more than 500,000 workers, but organizers say usage has slid as AI improved and new data-labeling startups moved in. A 2023 study found nearly half of workers on the site were themselves using AI to complete tasks.