Meet the pets who sit through every task queue

They don't contribute to AI training. They don't pass screeners. They have never once followed a rubric. But if you ask our contributors who keeps them company through long task queues and late-night sessions, you'll get the same answer: the pets.

We ran a "Pets of Outlier" form and asked contributors to share photos of their furry, scaly, feathery, or otherwise beloved coworkers. 192 submissions later, our inbox was full of chaos goblins, rescue stories, and one bearded dragon who rides on his owner's head. We've featured them in our newsletter, posted them on Instagram, and every single time we ask for more, the responses don't stop.

Here are a few of the pets (and people) who made us smile.

Hades, Bootsie, Alduin, and Remus

"My ferrets are always causing mischief and never giving me a private moment! From left to right we have Hades, Bootsie (upper middle), Alduin (lower middle), and Remus my bino boy!"
Four ferrets. Zero privacy. One very patient contributor. We respect the commitment to naming every single one.

Todd Pistachio

"This is Todd Pistachio, and don't be fooled by his adorable appearance. This absolute chaos goblin runs his house, and will do anything for a snack. His favorite thing to do is curl up on the back of the couch up by his mom and dad's shoulders and snuggle up real close!"
We didn't name him. We didn't have to. Todd Pistachio arrived fully formed.

Stella

"This is a land hippo named Stella. She enjoys terrorizing the household, plotting world domination, and farting. She also loves getting scratches, going on car rides for pup cups, and giving kisses and snuggles."
The phrase "land hippo" did a lot of heavy lifting and we are not going to question it.

Mango

"This is Mango our bearded dragon. He loves to hang on my head while we go for walks in the summer to get as close to the sun as possible!"
Not every coworker has four legs. Some have four legs and a tail and sit on your head to absorb sunlight. Mango is living his best life.

GlaDos

"This is GlaDos (yes, like in Portal. My son named her) she is a tailless cat that adores people."
If you know, you know. And if you don't: the original GLaDOS is a fictional AI that runs a research facility. This one is a tailless cat who adores people. Honestly, not that different.

Why we keep asking

Contributing to Outlier is remote, flexible, and often solo. You're sitting at your desk at 11 PM comparing two AI responses about quantum mechanics, and the only witness is a cat who is deeply unimpressed. There's something grounding about that. The pet photos remind us that behind every task completed and every response evaluated, there's a person at home, probably being judged by an animal who wants dinner.

We're always collecting pet photos. If your coworker has four legs, feathers, or scales, send a photo to insideoutlier@outlier.ai or tag us on Instagram. We'll keep featuring them because, frankly, they're better content than anything we could write ourselves.

See the full Pets of Outlier gallery on Instagram

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*Photos submitted by contributors via the Pets of Outlier form. Featured with permission.*