
How AI Is Being Trained to Do Your Job
From The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios
June 4, 2026 · 22 min
About this episode
The episode discusses how AI is being trained to perform white collar jobs, focusing on the startup Mercor and its hiring practices.
There’s a new gig economy that involves training AI to do white collar jobs. And one company, Mercor, is leading the charge. The training startup hired 30,000 contractors just last year to help AI companies get their models trained up on sophisticated roles. Ryan Knutson spoke to one former Mercor contractor about the job and WSJ’s Katie Bindley lays out the tactics that have landed the startup in hot water. Further Listening: The ‘Class of AI’ Enters the Workforce AI Is Coming for Entry-Level Jobs Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Ryan Knutson
Guest: former Mercor contractor
Topics covered
- AI training
- gig economy
- white collar jobs
- contract work
- startup challenges
Keywords
- AI
- Mercor
- contractors
- white collar jobs
- training
- gig economy
- workforce
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Mercor
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