ON AMAZON'S MECHANICAL TURK: DEFINING WORK 2.0

*michael parekh on IT

WORK 2.0: MICROCHUNKING WORK 1.0

Who'd have thunk? That potentially the next best use of the Internet since Google (via Bill Gross's GoTo.com/Overture efforts) could come from, not a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, 'web two'ed' start-up at 285 Hamilton Ave. in Palo Alto (via Om Malik), but from a scrappy web services team at 'Web 1.0' Amazon.com?

At the admittedly very real risk of getting ahead of myself, this week's announcement of Amazon's Mechanical Turk (called AMT for the remainder of this post) may mark the beginning of a whole new Internet gold rush, not seen since the Search 2.0 gold rush since Google's IPO. AMT could be the shot that inspires the launch of a whole new stream of start-ups the world over, especially since this is about re-configuring outsourcing as we know it.

What is AMT? As the announcement dryly and geekily describes it,

Amazon Mechanical Turk provides a web services API for computers to integrate Artificial Artificial Intelligence directly into their processing by making requests of humans.

Developers use the Amazon Mechanical Turk web services API to submit tasks to the Amazon Mechanical Turk web site, approve completed tasks, and incorporate the answers into their software applications.

To the application, the transaction looks very much like any remote procedure call - the application sends the request, and the service returns the results. In reality, a network of humans fuels this Artificial Artificial Intelligence by coming to the web site, searching for and completing tasks, and receiving payment for their work.

Here's what a typical work request looks like, for Amazon's A9 search engine. TechCrunch explains AMT in simpler terms:

The “machine” is a web service that Amazon is calling “artificial artificial intelligence.” If you need a process completed that only humans can do given current technology (judgment calls, text drafting or editing, etc.), you can simply make a request to the service to complete the process. The machine will then complete the task with volunteers, and return the results to your software.

Volunteers are paid different amounts for each task, and money earned is deposited into their Amazon accounts. Amazon keeps a 10% margin on what the requester pays.