--- title: "Factories Attach Cameras to Workers, in Hopes of Replacing Them With Robots" description: "Factories in India are increasingly tethering GoPro cameras to their workers in order to train their robotic replacements." date: "2026-07-01" modified: "2026-07-01" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/factory-attaches-cameras-workers-labor-robots" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" --- # Factories Attach Cameras to Workers, in Hopes of Replacing Them With Robots ![A photograph featuring a close-up of a worker wearing a camera on her head recording actions through motion capture.]() *R.Satish BABU / AFP via Getty Images* Today, sweatshop workers across the Global South are being made to pull double duty: both stitching clothes together, and training robots to put themselves out of work entirely. New reporting [by the *Guardian*]() documented this emerging gig taking hold at manufacturing facilities around the world. Outside Delhi, a 32-year-old garment maker identified as Lalita says her factory now requires everyone to strap a GoPro camera to their heads at the start of each shift. "We found it funny at first, because of how we all looked with that headgear," Lalita told the *Guardian*. Yet as cameras started to dominate the shop floor, workers became more wary that their every word would be picked up by the boss, she explains, resulting in a much quieter, more paranoid workplace. "The way people mount a CCTV camera on a wall, they mounted one on us," she added. And as their bosses recorded terabytes of footage on them, the workers say they were never told what the cameras were ultimately for. While they had the side-effect of enforcing discipline by keeping workers focused and fearful, the cameras were actually there to hoover up footage to train humanoid robots. Training humanoid robots works by [feeding a vision-language-action AI model]() thousands of hours of footage of humans performing tasks. After ingesting it all, this neural network learns to predict and mimic the sequence of body motions and hand positions needed to achieve an intended result — like sewing buttons onto a jacket — that it can later reproduce in the real world. As the case of Lalita's factory shows, these "human-footage-for-robots" operations serve to concentrate the wealth and data generated by this labor into the hands of a few robotics firms and their manufacturing partners. Meanwhile, the job of [generating training data]() is done by low-paid, precarious workers who now serve as a dual revenue stream for the owners of the factory. The end goal, for the tech firms and factory owners at least, is a one-size-fits-all robot, which can ostensibly plug-in to any assembly line and make workers like Lalita obsolete. If there's any silver lining, it's that we're a [long way off]() from humanoid robots ever becoming a viable replacement on the factory floor — but it's telling that the world's elites are broadcasting their intentions regardless. **More on robotics:** *[Failing Robot Cop Company Knightscope Now Publishing Bizarre AI Slop Fan Fiction About Its Robots Solving Absurd Crimes]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()