Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is an online crowdsourcing marketplace operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It was launched in 2005 and is designed to help businesses and researchers access a diverse workforce to perform various human intelligence tasks (HITs) that are difficult for computers to handle. These tasks typically require human judgment, intelligence, and skills.

Here's how it works:

1. Requesters: Requesters are individuals, businesses, or researchers who post tasks or jobs on the MTurk platform. These tasks can range from simple data entry and image categorization to more complex tasks like content moderation and sentiment analysis. Requesters define the task, set the payment for completing it, and specify any qualifications workers need to meet to participate.

2. Workers: Workers are individuals who sign up on MTurk to perform tasks and earn money. Anyone with an internet connection from around the world can become a worker on MTurk. Workers can choose from a wide range of available tasks based on their interests and skills.

3. HITs: Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) are the individual jobs posted by requesters on the MTurk platform. Each HIT comes with a description, the payment amount for completing it, the number of HITs available, and any required qualifications.

4. Payments: Workers earn money by completing HITs, and the payment for each task varies based on its complexity and the time required to complete it. Some tasks may pay only a few cents, while others can offer higher rewards.

5. Approval and Rejections: Requesters have the option to review and approve the work submitted by workers. If a requester is satisfied with the work, they approve the HIT, and the worker receives the payment. However, if the work does not meet the requirements, the requester may reject the HIT, and the worker won't receive payment for that task.


MTurk has been used for various purposes, including data labeling, market research, academic studies, and machine learning training data generation. It offers a flexible and cost-effective way for businesses and researchers to access a large pool of human workers for various tasks.

However, it's worth noting that since my knowledge is up to September 2021, there might have been updates or changes to the platform beyond that date. If you are considering using MTurk or becoming a worker, I recommend checking the official Amazon Mechanical Turk website for the most current information and guidelines.