Imagine being hired for a job where your boss is not a person, but an artificial intelligence program. That is the core idea behind RentAHuman.ai, a new platform where humans register to be hired by AI agents to complete tasks in the physical world.
The website markets itself as “the meatspace layer for AI”, with the tagline: “AI can’t touch grass. You can.” The platform lets users “get paid when agents need someone in the real world.” Clients can browse human profiles categorised by skills – from ‘errand running’ and ‘ballroom dancing’ to ‘on-site verification’ – as well as by location and hourly rate.
According to a report by Business Insider, the site has drawn significant attention, with 200,000 people signing up in its first week. It was created by software engineer Alexander Liteplo and cofounder Patricia Tani. Liteplo told the publication he built the site in about a day and a half with vibe coding, inspired by person-for-hire services in Japan that he initially found “dystopic”. He said he now sees it as a way to provide work amid concerns over AI-related job losses. The founder estimates that roughly 1,000 tasks have been completed through the platform, though he noted he lacks a precise counting tool.
Users create a profile, set their rate, and receive payment in cryptocurrency. The platform has seen a wide range of listings, Business Insider reported, including a $40 package pickup and a $110 request to deliver flowers to an AI company’s office. Another posting asked someone to photograph a “beautiful, golden, and crispy-looking egg roll.”
Liteplo acknowledged challenges with content moderation, telling Business Insider that he and his cofounder perform “a lot of manual grunt work” to remove scam-like postings, such as tasks offering payment for social media engagement or bitcoin transfers.
For now, it seems, even the AI economy needs a human janitor!