Book contents
- Diversity and Precarious Work during Socio-economic Upheaval
- Diversity and Precarious Work during Socio-economic Upheaval
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Pandemic Precarities and Gendered Biopolitics within the Neoliberal University
- 3 LGBTQ+ Individuals and Precarious Work
- 4 Age, Gender, and Precarity
- 5 How the (In)Ability of Using One’s Disability Strategically Reinforces Inequality and Precariousness amongst Disabled Workers
- 6 Classed and Gendered Experiences of Precarity in Dirty Work
- 7 Precarity and Diversity
- 8 Precarious Work in the Gig Economy
- 9 Refugees’ Vulnerability towards Precarious Work
- 10 Trapped in Precarious Work
- 11 How Precarity Is Threaded into Migration Rules
- 12 Culture, Precarity, and Dignity
- 13 Transforming Humanitarianism
- 14 Artificial Intelligence, the Gig Economy, and Precarity
- Index
- References
14 - Artificial Intelligence, the Gig Economy, and Precarity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2024
Book contents
- Diversity and Precarious Work during Socio-economic Upheaval
- Diversity and Precarious Work during Socio-economic Upheaval
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Pandemic Precarities and Gendered Biopolitics within the Neoliberal University
- 3 LGBTQ+ Individuals and Precarious Work
- 4 Age, Gender, and Precarity
- 5 How the (In)Ability of Using One’s Disability Strategically Reinforces Inequality and Precariousness amongst Disabled Workers
- 6 Classed and Gendered Experiences of Precarity in Dirty Work
- 7 Precarity and Diversity
- 8 Precarious Work in the Gig Economy
- 9 Refugees’ Vulnerability towards Precarious Work
- 10 Trapped in Precarious Work
- 11 How Precarity Is Threaded into Migration Rules
- 12 Culture, Precarity, and Dignity
- 13 Transforming Humanitarianism
- 14 Artificial Intelligence, the Gig Economy, and Precarity
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, we explore the duality of the artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled gig economy in terms of the precarity and the promise it offers. In particular we focus on underrepresented and disadvantaged groups of workers who found new homes in the AI-enabled gig economy. We explore how their precarity is viewed in the extant literature. We then expose the lack of attention to this group of workers, whose exclusion from the traditional labour market was not originally problematised, who now are portrayed as suffering as a result of poor regulation of AI. As such we expose the hypocrisy in terms of how precarity is problematised with the development of AI-enabled gig economy and yet the potential of the gig economy to open up opportunities for atypical workers is often overlooked. One of the concerns that we observe is the over-representation of the atypical workers in the sector. We demonstrate that it is possible to have an AI-enabled gig economy which does not lead to precarity, if there is effective regulation of the sector. We provide a brief roadmap with multilevel regulatory controls for combatting precarity in the AI-led gig economy.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Diversity and Precarious Work During Socio-Economic UpheavalExploring the Missing Link, pp. 284 - 305Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
Almeida, F., Santos, J. D., & Monteiro, J. A. (2020). The Challenges and Opportunities in the Digitalization of Companies in a Post-COVID-19 World. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 48(3), 97–103.Google Scholar
Alter, N. (2018). The Strength of Difference: Itineraries of Atypical Bosses. Emerald Group Publishing.Google Scholar
Anwar, M. A., & Graham, M. (2020). Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Freedom, Flexibility, Precarity and Vulnerability in the gig Economy in Africa. Competition & Change, 1024529420914473.Google Scholar
BBC (2021). Uber “willing to change” as drivers get minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56412397 17 March 2021; accessed at 28 March 2021Google Scholar
Brewis, J., & O ˝ zbilgin, M. (2013). Introducing recovery and organization. Culture and Organization, 19(5), 371–376.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., & Campbell, I. (1998). The nature and dimensions of precarious employment in Australia. Labour & Industry: A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work, 8(3), 5–21.Google Scholar
Burtch, G., Carnahan, S., & Greenwood, B. N. (2018). Can you gig it? An empirical examination of the gig economy and entrepreneurial activity. Management Science, 64(12), 5497–5520.Google Scholar
Butler, S. (2021). UK Deliveroo riders can earn as little as £2 an hour, survey finds www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/25/some-uk-deliveroo-riders-earning-just-2-an-hour-survey-finds#:~:text=Deliveroo%20has%20said%20riders%20are,were%20paid%20less%20than%20that. March 25, 2021; accessed 5 April 2021.Google Scholar
Campbell, I., & Price, R. (2016). Precarious work and precarious workers: Towards an improved conceptualisation. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 27(3), 314–332.Google Scholar
Castells, M. (2002). The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford University Press on Demand.Google Scholar
Cellan-Jones, R. (2019). Robots “to replace up to 20 million factory jobs” by 2030. URL: www.bbc.com/news/business-48760799, accessed on 28 March 2021.Google Scholar
Christie, N., & Ward, H. (2019). The health and safety risks for people who drive for work in the gig economy. Journal of Transport & Health, 13, 115–127.Google Scholar
CNBC (2018). More than half of the top American tech companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/us-tech-companies-founded-by-immigrants-or-the-children-of-immigrants.html May 28, 2018; accessed March 5, 2021.Google Scholar
Davis, M. E., & Hoyt, E. (2020). A longitudinal study of piece rate and health: evidence and implications for workers in the US gig economy. Public Health, 180, 1–9.Google Scholar
Devakumar, D., Bhopal, S. S., & Shannon, G. (2020). COVID-19: the great unequaliser. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 113(6), 234–235.Google Scholar
Elcioglu, E. F. (2020). Producing Precarity: The Temporary Staffing Agency in the Labor Market. Qualitative Sociology, 33, 117–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-010-9149-xGoogle Scholar
Evrensel (2020) Pandemide 160’tan fazla kurye hayatını kaybetti www.evrensel.net/haber/421490/pandemide-160tan-fazla-kurye-hayatini-kaybettiGoogle Scholar
Financial Times (2021). Turkish start-up Getir launches grocery delivery service in London. www.ft.com/content/bdb43495-fadf-4217-bc33-bc52e6f0fdd4 (Accessed at 26 March 2021)Google Scholar
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Technological forecasting and social change, 114, 254–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gómez-Uranga, M., Miguel, J. C., & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, J. M. (2014). Epigenetic economic dynamics: The evolution of big internet business ecosystems, evidence for patents. Technovation, 34(3), 177–189. Chicago.Google Scholar
Graham, M and Anwar, M. A. (2019). The Global Gig Economy: Towards a Planetary Labour Market, First Monday, 24(4) doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i4.9913.Google Scholar
Hardin, G. (1998). Extensions of “The tragedy of the commons”. Science, 280(5364), 682–683.Google Scholar
Healy, J., & Pekarek, A. (2020). Work and wages in the gig economy: Can there be a High Road? In The future of work and employment. Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
James, A., & Whelan, A. (2021). “Ethical” artificial intelligence in the welfare state: Discourse and discrepancy in Australian social services. Critical Social Policy, 0261018320985463.Google Scholar
Jerg, L., O’Reilly, J., & Buschoff, K. S. (2021). Adapting social protection to the needs of multiple jobholders in Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 1024258921991039.Google Scholar
Jonsen, K., Tatli, A., Özbilgin, M. F., & Bell, M. P. (2013). The tragedy of the uncommons: Reframing workforce diversity. Human Relations, 66(2), 271–294.Google Scholar
Kamasak, R., Özbilgin, M. F., Yavuz, M., & Akalin, C. (2019). Race discrimination at work in the United Kingdom. In Race Discrimination and Management of Ethnic Diversity and Migration at Work. Emerald Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Katta, S., Badger, A., Graham, M., Howson, K., Ustek-Spilda, F. and Bertolini, A. (2020). (Dis)embeddedness and (de)commodification: COVID-19, Uber, and the unravelling logics of the gig economy. Dialogues in Human Geography, 10(2), 203–207.Google Scholar
Kelly, J. (2020). Billionaires Are Getting Richer During The COVID-19 Pandemic While Most Americans Suffer www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/04/27/billionaires-are-getting-richer-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-while-most-americans-suffer/Google Scholar
Koberg, E., & Longoni, A. (2019). A systematic review of sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains. Journal of Cleaner Production, 207, 1084–1098.Google Scholar
Lepanjuuri, K., Wishart, R., & Cornick, P. (2018). The characteristics of those in the gig economy. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/687553/The_characteristics_of_those_in_the_gig_economy.pdf.Google Scholar
Mergen, A., & Ozbilgin, M. F. (2021). Understanding the followers of toxic leaders: Toxic illusio and personal uncertainty. International Journal of Management Reviews, 23(1), 45–63.Google Scholar
National Audit Office (2018). Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BEIS-Overview-2017-18.pdfGoogle Scholar
New York Times (2021). Delivery Workers in South Korea Say They’re Dying of “Overwork”. www.nytimes.com/2020/12/15/world/asia/korea-couriers-dead-overwork.html accessed at 28 March 2021Google Scholar
Novitz, T. (2020). The Potential for International Regulation of Gig Economy Issues. King’s Law Journal, 31(2), 275–286.Google Scholar
Özbilgin, M. F., & Erbil, C. (2021). Social movements and wellbeing in organizations from multilevel and intersectional perspectives: The case of the# blacklivesmatter movement. The SAGE handbook of organisational wellbeing.Google Scholar
Özbilgin, M. F., & Slutskaya, N. (2017). Consequences of neo-liberal politics on equality and diversity at work in Britain: Is resistance futile? In Chanlat, J.-F. and Özbligin, M.F. (Eds.) Management and Diversity (International Perspectives on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 4, pp. 319–334). Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2051-233320160000004015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pandey, N., & Pal, A. (2020). Impact of digital surge during Covid-19 pandemic: A viewpoint on research and practice. International Journal of Information Management, 55, 102171.Google Scholar
Petriglieri, G., Ashford, S. J., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2019). Agony and ecstasy in the gig economy: Cultivating holding environments for precarious and personalized work identities. Administrative Science Quarterly, 64(1), 124–170.Google Scholar
Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1992). “Social anthropology of technology.” Annual review of Anthropology, 21(1), 491–516.Google Scholar
Pichault, F., & McKeown, T. (2019). Autonomy at work in the gig economy: analysing work status, work content and working conditions of independent professionals. New Technology, Work and Employment, 34(1), 59–72.Google Scholar
Polkowska, D. (2021). Platform work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of Glovo couriers in Poland. European Societies, 23(sup1), S321–S331.Google Scholar
Prudential (2017). Gig Workers in America. www.prudential.com/wps/wcm/connect/4c7de648-54fb-4ba7-98de-9f0ce03810e8/gig-workers-in-america.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=mD-yCXo, accessed 28 March 2021Google Scholar
Rani, U., & Dhir, R. K. (2020). Platform Work and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 63(1), 163–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ROSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) (2020). “Road Safety Factsheet” Available at: www.rospa.com/media/documents/road-safety/cycling-accidents-factsheet.pdf (Accessed at 25 March 2021)Google Scholar
Samdanis, M., & Özbilgin, M. (2020). The duality of an atypical leader in diversity management: The legitimization and delegitimization of diversity beliefs in organizations. International Journal of Management Reviews, 22(2), 101–119.Google Scholar
Schwarz, M., & Thompson, M. (1990). Divided We Stand: Redefining Politics, Technology, and Social Choice. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Smith, B., Goods, C., Barratt, T., & Veen, A. (2021). Consumer “app-etite” for workers’ rights in the Australian “gig economy”. Journal of choice modelling, 38, 100254.Google Scholar
Syed, J., & Özbilgin, M. (2009). A relational framework for international transfer of diversity management practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(12), 2435–2453.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H. (Ed.). (2010). Social Identity and Intergroup Relations (Vol. 7). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tatli, A., Vassilopoulou, J., Ariss, A. A., & Özbilgin, M. (2012). The role of regulatory and temporal context in the construction of diversity discourses: The case of the UK, France and Germany. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 18(4), 293–308.Google Scholar
Umar, M., Xu, Y., & Mirza, S. S. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on the Gig economy. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 33(1), 1–13.Google Scholar
Vatan, G. (2021). Bir yılda motokurye ölümleri 10 kat arttı www.gazetevatan.com/bir-yilda-motokurye-olumleri-10-kat-artti-1377037-gundem/ accessed at 28 March 2021Google Scholar
Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J. Q., Fabian, N., & Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901.Google Scholar
Webster, C., & Ivanov, S. (2020). Robotics, artificial intelligence, and the evolving nature of work. In George, B., Paul, J. (eds) Digital Transformation in Business and Society (pp. 127–143). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-08277-2_8Google Scholar
Webster, N. A., & Zhang, Q. (2020). Careers delivered from the kitchen? Immigrant women small-scale entrepreneurs working in the growing Nordic platform economy. NORA-Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 28(2), 113–125.Google Scholar
- 3
- Cited by