Getting useful information from unstructured data is a notoriously difficult and time consuming task, but the launch of a new intelligent crowdsourcing platform could be about to change that.
The Spare5 platform uses a known community of specialists to accomplish custom micro-tasks that, filtered for quality, allow product owners to train powerful artificial intelligence models, improve their search and browse experiences, augment their directories and more.
According to IDG, unstructured data is growing at the rate of 62 percent annually and by 2022, 93 percent of all data will be unstructured. The Spare5 platform applies a combination of human insights and machine learning to solve the increasingly complex problem of using unstructured data, including images, video, social media content and text messages. Among the company's first wave of customers are Avvo, Expedia, Getty Images, GoPro, and Sentient Technologies.
"The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is true, but it's just the beginning. Spare5 is providing us breakthrough value by delivering nuanced human insights into our photos, at a value and scale that was unthinkable just a year ago," says Steve Heck, CTO of Getty Images.
Recognizing that all people have some expertise, valuable interests and free time, Spare5 has amassed a community of subject matter specialists across a wide range of skills and demographics, and built a library of game-like tasks. This approach enables Spare5 to ensure the right task goes to the right person. In order to continuously improve accuracy its Reputation Engine applies machine learning to rate each individual's performance.
As customers use the platform over time, the process becomes faster, smarter and better. Using a variety of SDKs and APIs, processed data can be easily integrated into existing data workflows and exported to produce top-line business reports.
"Our mission is to tap the world's potential brainpower," says Matt Bencke, founder and CEO of Spare5. "Businesses need specialized human insights to solve complex data problems. It used to be somewhere between impossible and impractical to crowdsource specialized insights at scale, with confidence and speed. Not any more. We love seeing our customers get the help they need to interpret unstructured data, while freeing up their employees to focus on their core competencies. There is a profound difference when the right human intelligence powers machine learning. And we've just begun".
Spare5 uses a subscription model allowing companies to easily make use of the platform. To find out more about it you can take a look at the company's website.
Photo Credit: photobank.kiev.ua/Shutterstock