Amazon announced it will stop accepting new customers for Mechanical Turk, its crowdsourcing platform that has connected workers to microtasks for nearly two decades. The company did not provide a specific closure date or explain the decision in detail.
Mechanical Turk launched in 2005 as a marketplace where requesters could post small jobs like data labeling, content moderation, and survey completion. Workers, predominantly from India and the United States, earned money completing these tasks. The platform became a staple for researchers, startups, and enterprises needing labeled datasets and human feedback at scale.
The move cuts off a revenue stream for millions of gig workers who relied on Mechanical Turk for supplemental or primary income. Academic researchers also used the platform extensively for low-cost participant recruitment in studies. Some workers earned under $2 per hour, though others reported higher rates for specialized work.
Amazon has not announced whether existing workers and requesters can continue using the platform. The timing raises questions about the company's broader crowdsourcing strategy as large language models and generative AI reduce demand for human-labeled data. Major tech companies have invested heavily in synthetic data and AI-assisted labeling in recent years.
The closure also reflects shifting economics in the labor market. Amazon has faced criticism for years over low pay rates and lack of worker protections on Mechanical Turk. A 2019 study found median hourly wages fell below minimum wage in many cases.
No successor platform has emerged as a direct replacement with comparable scale. Workers expressed concern on Reddit and Twitter about losing access to the service. Some platforms like Appen and Scale AI offer similar work but with different fee structures and eligibility requirements.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment about the decision or timeline for the shutdown.