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507 Mechanical Movements
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Amazon is closing Mechanical Turk on 30 September, ending the 21-year-old marketplace. The move affects workers who earned cents per task and signals AI's growing role.
Background
Amazon launched Mechanical Turk in 2005 as a marketplace for Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) — small jobs like data labeling and transcription that paid a few cents each. The platform was designed to harness human intelligence for tasks computers couldn't do. However, a 2023 study found that up to 46% of its workers were already using AI to complete tasks, undermining the platform's core premise. Amazon's decision to close it reflects the increasing capability of AI to handle these tasks.
How it unfolded
- 2005Amazon launches Mechanical Turk, a marketplace for small human-powered tasks.
- 2023A study by Swiss academic researchers finds up to 46% of Mechanical Turk workers use AI to complete tasks.
- Aug 26, 2026The Next Web reports Amazon will close Mechanical Turk on 30 September.
- Sep 30, 2026Mechanical Turk is scheduled to permanently close.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Amazon announced the permanent closure and directed workers and requesters to an FAQ page for preparation.
- Analysts
- The closure highlights AI's increasing ability to perform tasks once done by humans, making the platform obsolete.