INTRODUCTIONGems is a protocol for contracting workers to perform micro tasks. Workers stake tokens in order to prove validity of their tasks and earn a reusable computed trust score, enhancing the cost-efficiency of the network while democratizing access to scalable micro task workers.
Micro tasks are small tasks that require human judgment, can be completed independently over the internet, and are part of a larger unified project. Micro tasks aid organizations that need humans to complete tasks computers otherwise cannot. Micro tasks are used in a wide range of large scale distributions, whether by machine learning researchers to gather structured labeled data for training purposes, or by large companies, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Ebay, and Linkedin, to refine their production ready solutions and provide further model training. Billions of micro tasks are completed each year. The Chinese government alone uses 2 million micro task workers to aid in censoring the internet.
Unfortunately, the current centralized marketplaces are wrought with problems. Amazon charges requesters a minimum 20% fee on any amount paid out to workers and an additional 5% for requesting workers that have a good track record. Furthermore, tasks with 10 or more assignments are charged an additional 20% fee, totaling upwards of 40% in total fees. With over half of MTurkers reportedly earning less than $5 an hour, MTurk has been describe as the sweatshop of online crowdsourced labor. To use Crowdflower, on the mos basic plan requesters must pay a $3000 USD onboarding fee and $1500/month continuation
fee with an annual contract. This does not include payment to workers, which is paid separately. Furthermore, there is an additional 15% fee on any payments given to workers. Additionally, manually verifying the accuracy of results from workers is difficult. To ensure quality results, requesters currently rely on redundancy, oftentimes having 5-15 workers perform the same task to form a consensus. This is undoubtedly wasteful. Requesters pay 5-15x as much per project, and workers lose out on a potential increase in payment. Non-managed platforms do not supply interfaces needed to accomplish specific tasks. Currently,
requesters will either build their own tools or pay large fees to startups looking to tackle the enterprise market, wasting millions of dollars. Micro task workers also have issues with the system. The entirety of the labor pool does not have access to current micro task marketplaces. A staggering 38% of the world’s population does not have a bank account, hurting their ability to work in and contribute in current 4 systems.
Lastly, the signup and approval process for workers is nebulous and privacy invasive, leaving many wondering if they will even be able to contribute to this marketplace. The unofficial subreddit for workers on MTurk is riddled with users asking when they will be approved and many others offering condolences saying it may take months if ever.
The solution is Gems. In this paper we introduce Gems, a decentralized, open-sourced, human task crowdsourcing protocol built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Using the Gems Protocol, anyone can tap into the power of scalable micro task workers without needing to worry about task verification, trust, or payments. Gems is designed to disincentivize malicious actors and reward fair players. The Gems Protocol is comprised of a staking mechanism to ensure task completion, a trust mechanism to track worker integrity, and a payment system to reduce transaction fees. The GEM token, a multi-utility token, fuels the Gems Protocol. Gems uses its token mechanism to enforce the behavior of all participants, instead of being regulated by a single operator. We further introduce the first application using the Gems Protocol, aptly named the Gems Platform. The Gems Platform connects those who want work done (henceforth known as “requesters”) and human workers (henceforth known as “miners”). By using the Gems Protocol, the Gems Platform removes socioeconomic barriers that exist in centralized alternatives (e.g. large fees, market inefficiencies, need for bank accountants, etc.). Anyone can build on top of the Gems Platform, creating “modules” that are interfaces for particular human tasks. The first module the Gems team will build focuses on labeling data for AI. In this paper, we describe the Gems Protocol, the GEM token mechanism, the current problem with existing platforms, the Gems Platform, and the reasons we initially focus on AI tasks. The Gems Protocol, Gems Platforms, and modules built on top of it are collectively known as the Gems Network.
In summary, the Gems Network addresses the following:
1. Removing the middleman taking a large fee
2. Verifying accuracy of results from crowdsourced tasks
3. Supplying and building reusable interfaces
4. Removing the need for existing banking infrastructure
5. Properly incentivizing and disincentivizing miners and requesters
TEAM
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