The view from the window

Outlier is a platform made up of contributors: people all over the world who complete AI tasks from wherever they happen to be. Some contribute from home offices. Some from kitchen tables. Some from park benches, summer cabins, or a chair someone else used to sit in. The work is the same. The light is not.

Earlier this year, a simple question went out in the newsletter: what do you see when you look up from your screen? Send a photo. What came back was a gallery spanning more than two dozen countries — West Bengal to New Zealand, Kashmir to Colombia, southeast Finland to Sumatra, and everywhere in between.

Shreya M. — West Bengal, India

Shreya M. sent a photo from West Bengal — a river under open sky.

Abu M. — Kashmir, India

Kashmir sits at one of the most contested borders in the world. Abu M. contributes from there.

"Every frame holds infinite possibilities, much like the space Outlier has created for people like us."

Kajal R. — India

"These photos show my love for the greenery in nature." Two photos: dense green, the kind of saturated color that comes after rain. Kajal R. didn't include a location. Just the photos.

Gregorio N. — Indonesia

Gregorio N. started contributing on Outlier after his mother died. In the months that followed, he found himself sitting in her chair — the one she used when she looked out at the yard. He does his tasks from that spot now.

"When my mother was still alive, she often sat in front of the door looking out into the yard. Now I occupy her place, doing Outlier tasks where she used to sit. Between memories and the future, I find myself in the chair she used to sit in. This is the view my mother used to see every day, and now I see this view every day."

The photo shows what she saw.

Cornelia D. — Mikumi, Tanzania

Mikumi sits at the entrance to Tanzania's fourth-largest national park, where the Udzungwa Mountains rise to the south. Cornelia D. is Dutch, currently working from Tanzania. The view from her window is the Udzungwa range.

"View on Udzungwa National Park."

That was the full caption.

Itumeleng T. — South Africa

Three blocks from Itumeleng T.'s window is a shopping center. Not a large one, but enough. Between the window and the shops: a park where children play.

"Outside my window there's a lot of things to see. There's a park nearby where children are playing and doing activities. It's not that huge but it accommodates our needs."

The photo is of the park.

Sanna H. — Southeast Finland

Sanna H.'s view comes from a summer cabin in southeast Finland.

Taina E. — Switzerland

From the living room balcony of a house near the Swiss-French border, the view crosses rows of vineyards and climbs toward the Jura mountains on the French side.

"Across the Swiss vineyards and up the hill to the French border, and the Jura mountains. I turn my head to the right from where I sit at my table with my laptop, and this is what I see."

Pavlina P. — Slovakia

Pavlina P. works from a small Slovak village. Late at night, the sky over the neighborhood is still and very blue. When morning comes, her cat takes a position on the balcony shelf she has designated the "sunny spot" and surveys the neighboring houses. Later in the day she relocates indoors to a window Pavlina calls the Supervisory Cat Window, where she settles into the morning sun — creating what Pavlina describes as "a beautiful halo effect" — while appearing to review recent data outputs.

"So, that's my world — a quiet, sleepy village and some very diligent, fluffy quality assurance managers."

Yeganeh R. — Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Port Coquitlam sits in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, where clouds move through quickly and the light changes several times a day. Yeganeh R. works from a home office balcony.

"This is the ever-changing sky over Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, as seen from my home office balcony. I love the contrast between the clouds and that bit of brilliant sun peeking through."

Martha M. — Bogotá, Colombia

Martha M. is a social communicator and journalist, based in Bogotá. The city sits at 2,600 meters above sea level in the Andes, home to eight million people and a morning chill that most visitors don't expect. She sent her photo with an apology for being late. She wasn't.

Claudio F. — Lota, Chile

Lota is a small city on Chile's southern coast with a history bigger than its size. The El Blanco fishing cove sits just below, with boats and nets and the particular noise of a working waterfront. Up the hill: the Parque Luis neighborhood, quieter, with streets that climb above the port. A few blocks away: the Enacar ruins, what's left of the coal-mining industry that defined this city for a century, and the Apandi center, where people still show up to work with kids.

"It's a place with a tremendous soul, where the sea, history, and community all come together in one view. It's simply my home."

Paulo E. — São Paulo, Brazil

Paulo E. gets up at 4am. Early hours, quiet house, the rolling countryside outside São Paulo starting to come into focus before the rest of the world has moved. He pauses each morning to watch the first light come up over the hills.

"I often pause for a moment just to admire the magic of those first rays."

The countryside outside São Paulo doesn't look like what most people picture when they think of Brazil's largest city. It looks like somewhere you'd want to be at 4am.

Bashara — New Zealand

Bashara is in New Zealand. Three photos arrived with one line: "I would like to share the view from my window."

Charlotte V. — Florida, USA

Charlotte V. works from her lanai. On the lanai that day: an alligator.
"It's not every day you have an alligator as part of your view! One of the unique perks of working from Florida though."

Nicole H. — Seattle, Washington, USA

Queen Anne Hill rises above downtown Seattle, with views south toward the waterfront and west toward Puget Sound. Nicole H. works from the top of it. Her cat appears in the photo.

"I'm very lucky to have a beautiful view of Seattle, WA from the top of Queen Anne hill facing south and west. Plus my kitty."

Waasafa — North London, UK

Green Lanes runs north through Haringey and Enfield, one of the longer arterial roads connecting North London to Central London. From a flat window along that stretch, the view takes in a row of townhouses and the road below. In the foreground: two cats watching the same scene.

"There are many townhouses visible from the window, and a large trunk road that connects North London to Central London, called 'Green Lanes'. And, of course there's also my feline companions sitting watching the outside world too."

Irene H. — Nantou City, Taiwan

Nantou is the only landlocked county in Taiwan, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. Irene H. sent her photo from there during a week when Typhoon Ragasa was passing over the island.

Agatha S. — Yerevan, Armenia

Mount Ararat rises in eastern Turkey but is visible on clear days from Yerevan, the Armenian capital just across the border. It is Armenia's national symbol, depicted on the country's coat of arms, though the mountain itself sits across the border. Agatha S. was in Yerevan when she sent the photo. She noted she'd be in Bahia, Brazil before long.

"My window view (literally) is the majestic Mount Ararat. On clear days, the snow-capped peak rises sharply. It's simple and inspiring!"

Beyzanur Ü. — Turkey

Beyzanur Ü. sent a photo from Turkey.

Simona O. — Puglia, Italy

Puglia runs down the heel of Italy's boot, between the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea. Simona O. sent a photo from there with four words.

"From Puglia with 🫶🏼"

Rania C. — Martil, Morocco

Martil is a small coastal town in northern Morocco, where the Rif Mountains slope down to the Mediterranean. Rania C. is a physics student there.

"Even when I'm not looking directly out my window, the beauty of this region — between the Mediterranean sea and the Rif mountains — is what inspires me to push my limits and dive into the world of AI. It's a view that reminds me how much there is to discover in both science and the world around us."

Pepe J. — Tenerife, Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are Spanish territory off the northwest coast of Africa. Tenerife is the largest of them. Pepe J. has been on Outlier for eight months, spending his time between Tenerife and a small town in La Rioja, in northern Spain. One morning during the Blackbeard project, he took his laptop with him on a walk along the northern coast.

"I thought you'd enjoy seeing the Outlier interface against the backdrop of the sea on my old laptop."

The photos in this gallery came from contributors working through AI tasks at kitchen tables and cabin desks, from balconies overlooking vineyards and valleys, from lanais where alligators wander and windows where cats keep watch. This is what it looks like from where the work gets done.