The future of techno-disruption in gig economy workforces: challenging the dialogue with fictional abstracts

Abstract

In this article we explore near-future of the pervasive computing, AI, and HCI in the context of the disruptive potential of technologies on workers in the on-demand gig economy. Using fictional abstracts, the authors muse on dystopian case studies of: independent contractors, last-mile couriers, teachers, and creative professionals. This article serves as base for critical reflections on: 1) the need for multidisciplinary approaches when tackling broader and far-reaching societal implications of digital technology in the gig economy, and 2) the potential role of fictional abstracts in the design process of future digital technologies. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI).

Let's start talking the walk

“…In HCI and LIMITS, a breadth of issues concerning the gig economy have been taken up in the guise of: co-designing platforms such as Turkopticon to help empower Turkers [27]; examining this sort of work through the lens of piecework [1]; understanding our role as technologists whilst working at the intersection between technology, labour and design [20]; the rise of social inequality in on-demand labour [17,36]; exploring flexibility and time in on-demand work [43]; the human impact of on-demand logistics [2]; alternative infrastructures to free services in surveillance capitalism [28]; using photography in design when exploring sustainability, respect for human labour, and design for respect [7], and; exploring the emotional toll of working for platforms such as Uber and Lyft [40]. Design fiction and fictional abstracts have also been used to communicate and dissect dystopian visions relating to the full-scale apocalypse [39] as well as the collapsing of more traditional forms of work due to automation [5].…”

“…A core requirement of Not-Equal proposals is that they "facilitate collaborations between academics and non-academic communities". In centering the grant around fairness, we would make use of couriers as active collaborators in the project, build collaborative links with the courier branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union 3 , alongside an inclusion of others with a stake in thinking about the future of the gig economy (Miralis 4 , Future City Logistics 5 , and Cooperatives UK 6 ).…”

“…Despite the prior work of the authors, and the knowledge that they already had about their community of interest (see [2][3][4][5]), there were challenges involved in making use of this expertise in this project. This is because knowing -on paper -that couriers are a busy, mobile and moving community is much different to experiencing it in practice.…”

“…Not-Equal, https://not-equal.tech, accessed April 2020 3 https://iwgb.org.uk, accessed April 2020 4 https://www.miralis.co.uk, accessed April 20205 https://futurecitylogistics.com, accessed April 2020. Future City Logistics is a consultancy focusing on issues of sustainability and social justice in logistics and is made up of Ian Wainwright, who worked as Head of Freight at Transport for London6 https://www.uk.coop/uk, accessed April 2020…”

Children in 2077: Designing Children's Technologies in the Age of Transhumanism

“…To achieve creating a manuscript corresponding to the above concerns, we prepared a crowd-sourced paper contributed by 16 authors with thirteen fictional abstracts focusing on transhumanist technologies for children. The final form of this paper is similar to previous fictional abstract collections such as the speculative visions for CHI2039 by Eric Baumer [4] or [3]. Fictional abstracts are especially useful for such uncharted topics because they allow exploration beyond utilitarianism by focusing on possible societal impacts [22].…”