Work & algorithms
Seeing algorithmic management
Document how software assigns tasks, sets pay, evaluates and sanctions workers, using what workers can observe and obtain.
More and more work is directed by software: dispatching, pricing, performance scores, account deactivations. Workers experience these decisions but rarely see how they are made. The project would combine personal data exports, voluntary work diaries and workers' accounts to describe patterns in how tasks are allocated and evaluated.
Data exports do not reveal an algorithm's logic, and correlations do not prove intent; the work must state these limits and separate observations from hypotheses. The aim is evidence that workers and their organisations can use in discussions with employers, platforms and regulators.