Considering Google’s efforts in machine learning and AI, Crowdsource looks to be an effort to crowdsource as many people as possible to actually help teach their translation and image/ text recognition engines.
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It starts by asking users what language they are fluent in, before asking what they would like to feedback on, focusing on translations of text in Maps and other applications as well as image transcription and handwriting recognition.
Its seems like Google has become extremely fond of crowdsourcing in the recent past, as the company also announced (http://gadgets.ndtv.com/wearables/news/google-wants-your-designs-for-its-new-android-wear-watch-faces-1451680) that it is crowdsourcing the watch face designs for its Android Wear Collection for the fall as it launched a contest to receive entries through Instagram. Do you have a few seconds to spare to the cause here and there? At present, it’s unclear if points will be for gamification, self-adulation or if this will turn into a tiered system with rewards like the Local Guides program. And with each microtask promising to consume no more than 5 to 10 seconds of your day, being a good Samaritan has never been so easy. Crowdsource is of course, a free app to install, and users can toggle off notifications at any time so they aren’t being alerted to available tasks.
Google is enlisting your help with the launch of an Android app called Crowdsource, that will allow them to improve its services like Google Translate, Google Search, and Google Maps.
While it does not offer any incentives for users to take part, Google relies on users who like Android’s open source nature and want to make “the internet a better place for your community”.
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Simple they may be, but the “microtasks” are certainly not rewarding – apart from the little glow of warmth you may get from helping out.
