#gig-workers — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #gig-workers, aggregated by home.social.
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Rest of World: The Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn’s “thought leadership” content mill. “Rest of World spoke to six Filipino virtual assistants and two agencies who described a unique industry of low-paid and AI-assisted offshore workers producing content for executives and so-called thought leaders on LinkedIn. The names of the virtual assistants have been changed to protect […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/11/rest-of-world-the-filipino-virtual-assistants-behind-linkedins-thought-leadership-content-mill/ -
Rest of World: The Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn’s “thought leadership” content mill. “Rest of World spoke to six Filipino virtual assistants and two agencies who described a unique industry of low-paid and AI-assisted offshore workers producing content for executives and so-called thought leaders on LinkedIn. The names of the virtual assistants have been changed to protect […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/11/rest-of-world-the-filipino-virtual-assistants-behind-linkedins-thought-leadership-content-mill/ -
The Register: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to stop accepting new customers – and not even AI can save it. “Earlier this week, AWS added the Amazon SageMaker AI – Mechanical Turk service to its list of ‘Services in Maintenance’ – AWS-speak for services it will soon retire. The Mechanical Turk website also added a warning that it will ‘be closed to new customers, effective July 30, 2026. […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/05/the-register-amazons-mechanical-turk-to-stop-accepting-new-customers-and-not-even-ai-can-save-it/ -
The Register: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to stop accepting new customers – and not even AI can save it. “Earlier this week, AWS added the Amazon SageMaker AI – Mechanical Turk service to its list of ‘Services in Maintenance’ – AWS-speak for services it will soon retire. The Mechanical Turk website also added a warning that it will ‘be closed to new customers, effective July 30, 2026. […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/05/the-register-amazons-mechanical-turk-to-stop-accepting-new-customers-and-not-even-ai-can-save-it/ -
TechCrunch: This startup is betting India’s gig economy can train the world’s robots. “In the last few years, India’s online food delivery market has grown significantly, with both Zomato and Swiggy going public and the number of cloud kitchens increasing. … Silicon Valley-based startup Human Archive is tapping into this trend, partnering with these companies to have workers wear […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/27/techcrunch-this-startup-is-betting-indias-gig-economy-can-train-the-worlds-robots/ -
TechCrunch: This startup is betting India’s gig economy can train the world’s robots. “In the last few years, India’s online food delivery market has grown significantly, with both Zomato and Swiggy going public and the number of cloud kitchens increasing. … Silicon Valley-based startup Human Archive is tapping into this trend, partnering with these companies to have workers wear […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/27/techcrunch-this-startup-is-betting-indias-gig-economy-can-train-the-worlds-robots/ -
Global May Day: **Global May Day 2026: Report Sindikasi Yogyakarta**
https://globalmayday.net/2026/05/09/sindikasi-jogja-gmd26/
This year the labour union Sindikasi Yogyakarta (Indonesia) endorsed a call on the Global May Day platform for the first time. They joined the Yogyakarta May Day rally and shared […]
#GlobalMayDay2026 #News #Gigworkers #Sindikasi -
Global May Day: **Global May Day 2026: Report Sindikasi Yogyakarta**
https://globalmayday.net/2026/05/09/sindikasi-jogja-gmd26/
This year the labour union Sindikasi Yogyakarta (Indonesia) endorsed a call on the Global May Day platform for the first time. They joined the Yogyakarta May Day rally and shared […]
#GlobalMayDay2026 #News #Gigworkers #Sindikasi -
#China formalises labour rules for #gigworkers on #online #platforms
"1st comprehensive #policy framework for new employment gps, incl'g #delivery riders & livestreamers, signall'g a shift fr ad-hoc #regulation to normalisat'n of platform econ.. guidance calls for #standardised #contracts, fair pay & stronger labour protections.. Platforms must increase #transparency, consult worker reps, submit #algorithms for review & tighten regulatory scrutiny over core op'g models"👍
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-formalizes-labor-rules-for-gig-workers-on-online-platforms -
#China formalises labour rules for #gigworkers on #online #platforms
"1st comprehensive #policy framework for new employment gps, incl'g #delivery riders & livestreamers, signall'g a shift fr ad-hoc #regulation to normalisat'n of platform econ.. guidance calls for #standardised #contracts, fair pay & stronger labour protections.. Platforms must increase #transparency, consult worker reps, submit #algorithms for review & tighten regulatory scrutiny over core op'g models"👍
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-formalizes-labor-rules-for-gig-workers-on-online-platforms -
Delivery robots as evocative objects
I came across these delivery robots on Sunday morning, clustered in the corner of a park. One had been covered in graffiti, two had their flags snapped and a third one was covered in some strange green slime. It looked like Saturday night had been tough.
I find it hard not to anthropomorphise these robots. I heard the way they crossed the road described as ‘scrabbling’ yesterday and it’s the perfect adjective for how they appear to look left and right, before accelerating out into the traffic. People interact with them, talk about them, respond to them. In many ways the vandalism is the flip side of the anthromorphism. They are evocative objects in Sherry Turkle’s sense of provoking responses in the humans who encounter them. You might find them cute, you might have the impulse to cover them in graffiti, you might want to help them cross the road, you might want to block their path to see if they do.
The key thing is that they are evoking a response from you. If their design enables them to do that reliably then they are likely to be normalised, even if the economic model might not currently work in its current form. The real significance of them is how they become evocative features of the urban landscape and what that means for the political economy of the city.
It occurs to me that if we are projecting into these robots, which we clearly are because they obviously do not feel anything, it raises the question of what we are projecting. My hypothesis is that when I saw them on my run this morning, feeling sad about the vandalism and exhibiting a spatial sense of having retreated into a corner of the park, I was doing something with my own insufficiently acknowledged guilt about the gig economy. I’ve stopped using delivery platforms but I still end up taking Ubers regularly, even if I’m slowly tipping the balance to black caps.
When I feel vaguely sympathetic for these robots (while recognising how absurd that reaction is) am I expressing in an alienated form my own desire to demonstrate solidarity with gig workers, which is being subordinated to my own convenience in a way that provokes guilt in me?
I wanted to add that I think vandalism against delivery robots can be a political act. There are clear examples of this in vandalism against robo-taxis for example. I’m just not sure this particular vandalism can plausibly be read in those terms, though perhaps I’m wrong.
#anthropmorphism #deliveryRobots #evocativeObjects #gigEconomy #gigWorkers #labour #projection #robots #SherryTurkle #urbanism -
I knew that the rapid development of AI came with a crushing exploitation of the environment.
What I did not realize was, that it also comes with a crushing exploitation of gig workers around the world. (A quick search gave two links:)
https://www.noemamag.com/the-exploited-labor-behind-artificial-intelligence
and
The AI Revolution Comes With the Exploitation of Gig Workers - AlgorithmWatch
https://algorithmwatch.org/en/ai-revolution-exploitation-gig-workers/ -
I knew that the rapid development of AI came with a crushing exploitation of the environment.
What I did not realize was, that it also comes with a crushing exploitation of gig workers around the world. (A quick search gave two links:)
https://www.noemamag.com/the-exploited-labor-behind-artificial-intelligence
and
The AI Revolution Comes With the Exploitation of Gig Workers - AlgorithmWatch
https://algorithmwatch.org/en/ai-revolution-exploitation-gig-workers/ -
Digital Trends: The influencer economy’s invisible workers are first in line for the AI chop . “That arrangement worked because the labor was affordable and mostly invisible. Now the same businesses that benefited from it are turning to tools like OpusClip, which promise to turn long videos into short clips and publish them across platforms with a click. The factory floor was always there. AI […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/11/digital-trends-the-influencer-economys-invisible-workers-are-first-in-line-for-the-ai-chop/ -
Digital Trends: The influencer economy’s invisible workers are first in line for the AI chop . “That arrangement worked because the labor was affordable and mostly invisible. Now the same businesses that benefited from it are turning to tools like OpusClip, which promise to turn long videos into short clips and publish them across platforms with a click. The factory floor was always there. AI […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/11/digital-trends-the-influencer-economys-invisible-workers-are-first-in-line-for-the-ai-chop/ -
"The US Air Force had sent the Rivet Joint, one of the world’s most powerful surveillance aircraft, to gather intelligence before a hostile operation. The UK also owns three of the planes and last month dispatched one to the North Atlantic to support the seizure of the Marinera tanker, which the US said had transported sanctioned oil for Venezuela.
Equipped with cutting-edge military technology, the Rivet Joint can pick up radar signals, geolocate enemy systems and intercept communications from 150 miles away.
Exactly how it does this is kept strictly under wraps. But we can reveal that an Australian tech company called Appen has performed work for a secretive US military unit, code-named Big Safari, that installs the planes’ tech systems.
Appen recruits gig workers from all over the world to help train AI systems. The company’s latest annual report says it has a workforce of a million people who speak over 500 languages.
Many of these gig workers are paid very little. Some are from countries that have faced attacks from US armed forces. None were told by Appen that they may have been working for the US military."
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"The US Air Force had sent the Rivet Joint, one of the world’s most powerful surveillance aircraft, to gather intelligence before a hostile operation. The UK also owns three of the planes and last month dispatched one to the North Atlantic to support the seizure of the Marinera tanker, which the US said had transported sanctioned oil for Venezuela.
Equipped with cutting-edge military technology, the Rivet Joint can pick up radar signals, geolocate enemy systems and intercept communications from 150 miles away.
Exactly how it does this is kept strictly under wraps. But we can reveal that an Australian tech company called Appen has performed work for a secretive US military unit, code-named Big Safari, that installs the planes’ tech systems.
Appen recruits gig workers from all over the world to help train AI systems. The company’s latest annual report says it has a workforce of a million people who speak over 500 languages.
Many of these gig workers are paid very little. Some are from countries that have faced attacks from US armed forces. None were told by Appen that they may have been working for the US military."
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AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal visited a hotel on a delivery scooter in Thiruvananthapuram to witness the challenges faced by gig workers. Promises legislation, welfare board, and support for protes https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/kc-venugopal-rides-with-delivery-boy-to-understand-gig-workers-issues-assures-support-sfqycfw4?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KCVenugopal #GigWorkers #KeralaNews #Thiruvananthapuram
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Now DoorDash is closing doors.
Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars
https://www.404media.co/waymo-is-getting-doordashers-to-close-doors-on-self-driving-cars/
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Now DoorDash is closing doors.
Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars
https://www.404media.co/waymo-is-getting-doordashers-to-close-doors-on-self-driving-cars/
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"'Rent-a-Human wants AI Agents to hire humans as gig workers
'Robots need your body.'
Based on the weekend’s viral hype around AI agents, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re inching closer to a Cyberpunk future once reserved for sci-fi books and video games. And while that trajectory may be real, we’re also nowhere near full-blown cyber-dystopia just yet.
Still, the tech world has found something new to fixate on. As of now, it's a website called Rentahuman.ai, where humans can quite literally sell their labor to AI agents. The Rent-a-Human platform was created by crypto software engineer Alexander Liteplo after the sudden success of OpenClaw and Moltbook, and it proudly bills itself as 'the meatspace layer for AI.' (Mashable reached out to Liteplo for comment but did not receive a response.)
Think TaskRabbit, but for autonomous agents that need humans to do physical-world tasks they can’t."
https://mashable.com/article/rent-a-human-wants-ai-agents-to-hire-you
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"'Rent-a-Human wants AI Agents to hire humans as gig workers
'Robots need your body.'
Based on the weekend’s viral hype around AI agents, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re inching closer to a Cyberpunk future once reserved for sci-fi books and video games. And while that trajectory may be real, we’re also nowhere near full-blown cyber-dystopia just yet.
Still, the tech world has found something new to fixate on. As of now, it's a website called Rentahuman.ai, where humans can quite literally sell their labor to AI agents. The Rent-a-Human platform was created by crypto software engineer Alexander Liteplo after the sudden success of OpenClaw and Moltbook, and it proudly bills itself as 'the meatspace layer for AI.' (Mashable reached out to Liteplo for comment but did not receive a response.)
Think TaskRabbit, but for autonomous agents that need humans to do physical-world tasks they can’t."
https://mashable.com/article/rent-a-human-wants-ai-agents-to-hire-you
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Karnataka High Court overturns bike taxi ban, providing relief for commuters & gig workers. Owners must seek authorization to use the bikes as transport vehicles. Learn more! https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/karnataka-hc-lifts-ban-on-bike-taxis-clears-way-for-regulated-operations-tro73g7y?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Bengaluru #biketaxiban #revoked #gigworkers #India
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Centre plans a microcredit scheme offering collateral-free loans up to Rs 10,000 per year for gig workers and domestic helpers, modelled on PM-SVANidhi. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/centre-soon-rolls-out-collateral-free-loans-gig-workers-domestic-help-2026-o26odxxk?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #GigWorkers #CollateralFreeLoan #MicrocreditScheme #EShram
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India`s Centre directs e-commerce platforms to end 10-minute delivery, prioritizing gig worker safety & welfare https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/india-bans-10-minute-delivery-gig-worker-safety-raghav-chadha-r759271u?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #delivery #gigworkers #ecommerce #raghavchadha
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Blinkit has removed its 10-minute delivery claim after Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya intervened over delivery partner safety. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/blinkit-removes-10-minute-delivery-claim-after-mandaviyas-intervention-hymr0w0q?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Blinkit #DeliveryPartnerSafety #GigWorkers
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Strike for social security benefits, assured wages, and comprehensive labour protections for platform workers.
Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT)
Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU)
Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU)#gigworkers #India #LabourMovement #Organize #Solidarity #Strike #Unions #WorkingPoor
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Strike for social security benefits, assured wages, and comprehensive labour protections for platform workers.
Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT)
Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU)
Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU)#gigworkers #India #LabourMovement #Organize #Solidarity #Strike #Unions #WorkingPoor
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Please don't order anything from delivery apps today.
Support the workers fighting for their rights🙏
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Gig Workers: Delivery gig workers strike today
https://vaartha.com/national/delivery-gig-workers-are-on-strike-today/617958/
#GigWorkers #DeliveryStrike #GigEconomy #WorkersStrike #TodayStrike #LabourRights #DeliveryWorkers #ZomatoSwiggy #GigWorkersIndia #LabourNews #EmployeeRights #IndiaStrike #TeluguNews #BreakingNews #Workforce -
A nationwide gig workers’ strike could disrupt food, grocery and e-commerce deliveries on New Year’s Eve https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/new-years-eve-december-31-swiggy-zomato-delivery-boy-strike-news-dinjyi5h?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #GigWorkers #Strike #NewYearsEve #FoodDelivery
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#Flock Uses Overseas #GigWorkers to Build its #Surveillance #AI
Flock accidentally exposed training materials and a panel which tracked what its AI annotators were working on. It showed that Flock, which has #cameras in thousands of #US communities, is using workers in the Philippines to review and classify footage.
https://www.404media.co/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/
https://archive.ph/PpQUF -
#Flock Uses Overseas #GigWorkers to Build its #Surveillance #AI
Flock accidentally exposed training materials and a panel which tracked what its AI annotators were working on. It showed that Flock, which has #cameras in thousands of #US communities, is using workers in the Philippines to review and classify footage.
https://www.404media.co/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/
https://archive.ph/PpQUF -
#Flock Uses #Overseas #GigWorkers to Build Its #Surveillance #AI
An accidental #leak revealed that Flock, which has cameras in thousands of US communities, is using workers in the #Philippines to review and classify footage.
#flocksafety #security #privacy #artificialintelligencehttps://www.wired.com/story/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/
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China’s 200m Gig Workers Are A Warning For The World
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https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/09/18/chinas-200m-gig-workers-are-a-warning-for-the-world <-- shared media analysis
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https://youtu.be/5fmFyMFKnr8?si=m5hNMbuejbiNAEzL <-- shared video re: movie Upstream
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[not my usual fare, but fascinating... and, frankly, alarming...]
#china #gigeconomy #upstream #cinema #film #gigworkers #workforce #instability #AI #techplatforms #workers #employment #urban #benefits #publichealth #economy #culture #job #work #labourmarket #construction #stability
@the Economist -
Protection for gig workers would be awesome. Gig workers get abused so hard in this terrible job market. Mamdani has to take her idea for NYC.
https://www.wilsonforseattle.com/cityforworkingfamilies#gigworkers
#workerrights
#contractwork
#katiewilson
#zohranfornyc
#workerprotections -
Protection for gig workers would be awesome. Gig workers get abused so hard in this terrible job market. Mamdani has to take her idea for NYC.
https://www.wilsonforseattle.com/cityforworkingfamilies#gigworkers
#workerrights
#contractwork
#katiewilson
#zohranfornyc
#workerprotections -
The web's obsession with #cookies and #JavaScript is apparently more critical than China's army of gig workers 🍪🔧. Who knew world warnings could be bypassed by browser settings? 🙄✨
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/09/18/chinas-200m-gig-workers-are-a-warning-for-the-world #gigworkers #browsersettings #technews #HackerNews #ngated -
"Gig workers in the EU scored a landmark victory against delivery apps.
Platforms like Uber and Deliveroo have relied on exploitative practices like classifying their drivers as independent contractors and paying workers below minimum wage.
Now, thanks to years of relentless organizing and legal battles, 30 million workers will be protected under the world’s first comprehensive gig worker protection law." From perfectunion y elisejoshi IG
#unionstrong #unions #gigworkers
#Uber #uberwachung #lyft #doordash
#exploitation #turbocapitalista
#turbocapitalist #NeoLiberalismus
#deliveroo #neocolonialism -
#Gig #workers are playing a central role in #Indonesia's #protests. It's no accident - there's been innovative, grassroots organizing taking place in the sector for years.
In fact, I wrote about this a few months ago
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Read the complete analysis by Veda Singh,an Advocate and member of Digital Defenders Network.
Digital Defenders Network Applications are now open!
Apply Now: https://form.sflc.in/sflc-in-ddn/
Deadline: July 31st, 2025
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Towards Ethical AI & Worker Empowerment in Gig Work
Ethical, worker-centric AI platforms such as Namma Yatri (Bangalore) uses commission-free, open protocols disrupting dominant platforms.
#AI #Gigworkers #sflc #Gigworkers
