Yandex Hosts Russia's First AI Trainer Conference

Yandex held Russia's first AI trainer conference in Moscow today, highlighting how AI model training is changing and why the industry needs professionals from many different fields. The company also presented an AI training platform.

Answer quality used to improve mostly with additional data, but that alone is no longer enough. According to Yandex, one in five user queries to an AI model involves a specialized subject, such as medicine, law, finance, engineering, chemistry, business or education. AI trainers, experts in these subjects, help the models learn to answer such queries fully and accurately.

Over the past three years, Yandex's spending on bringing in these experts has grown 3.5-fold. The company will spend 3.5 billion RUB ($42 million) on recruiting AI trainers this year, and its total investment over the three years will reach 6.5 billion RUB ($77 million). Yandex expects to have 2,500 AI trainers on its team by the end of this year. That is almost 1.5 times as many as in the previous three years.

The platform presented at the conference is designed for specialists from different disciplines. Applicants do not need experience in AI development, only expertise in their own field. To become an AI trainer, they submit proof of relevant qualifications and go through a competitive selection process. Trainers can work full- or part-time and combine the role with another job or academic work.