There are some things that humans are inherently better than computers. For instance, take two pictures; One of a dog and one of a cat. A computer would have a fit finding out which is a dog and which is a cat ( they both have hair allover, have a tail, walk on all fours, etc.). While a 4 year old kid could see the answers immediately.

Amazon has just exploited this problem and created a solution. Now, using Mechanical Turk you can have humans solve problems that computers can’t. For instance, send a request such as “Of these pictures, which is a do and which is a cat?”

I first read Fred’s post about this service and immediately realized this could be a new way of outsourcing. Typically, when you think of outsourcing, you think of outsourcing to a geographical area that has cheaper labor or better shipping capabilities (therefore reducing costs). This is a new type of outsourcing.

They’re calling this Artificial-Artificial Intelligence. I think that’s a great name! I think this is a great opportunity to again, show the power of the Internet.

How can you leverage this service? I know that when I’m folding clothes, I think, “If I had 100 people and each person would fold just one piece of clothing, I would be done ‘now’. And I could refold them again, ‘now’. And again, ‘now’.”

Think about what you could do with this service.