Blue, Abigail S. - Horseland - Versklavt und zugeritten

The brutal truth behind our automated futures and the new world of work We are told that the future of work will be increasingly automated. Algorithms, processing massive amounts of information at startling speed, will lead us to a new world of effortless labour and a post-work utopia of ever expanding leisure. But behind the gleaming surface stands millions of workers, often in the Global South, manually processing data for a pittance. Recent years have seen a boom in online crowdworking platforms like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Clickworker, and these have become an increasingly important source of work for millions of people. And it is these badly paid tasks, not algorithms, that make our digital lives possible. Used to process data for everything from the mechanics of self-driving cars to Google image search, this is an increasingly powerful part of the new digital economy, although one hidden and rarely spoken of. But what happens to work when it makes itself obsolete. In this stimulating work that blends political economy, studies of contemporary work, and speculations on the future of capitalism, Phil Jones looks at what this often murky and hidden form of labour looks like, and what it says about the state of global capitalism. "Let Phil Jones be your guide to the darkest underbelly of work under digitized capitalism, where tech barons surveil workers' every move and sell their clicks for profit, and the 'job' falls apart but we work more all the time. A beautifully written call to arms to stop this miserable future before it comes for all of us." --Sarah Jaffe, author of __Work Won't Love You Back__ "In this fast-paced and exciting read, Phil Jones explores the hidden abodes of the digital economy, where the world’s surplus workers label images, moderate content, and teach algorithms how to identify common house pets, all for a few cents an hour. /Work without the worker/ explores how dispossessed microworkers might band together to spearhead a global movement for free-time and material security." --Aaron Benanev, author of __Automation and the Future of Work__ "Takes readers to the hidden abode of production of artificial intelligence: a world of precarious, highly exploited, and onerous microwork increasingly performed in the slums, prisons, and refugee camps of sclerotic post-crisis capitalism. With an incandescent urgency, Jones argues that such digitally fragmented piecework threatens livelihoods of all sorts, but also that it offers a tantalizing potential for a world beyond wage labor -- if we can fight for it." --Gavin Mueller, author of __Breaking Things at Work__ "Beneath the noisy sphere of autonomous robots and smart assistants, Jones clearly and patiently reveals the hidden abode of underpaid, overworked, and insecure labourers that underpin our digital society. This is an essential guide to an often invisible world." —Nick Snricek, author of __Platform Capitalism__ **Phil Jones** is a researcher for the think tank Autonomy. He regularly writes for publications such as the __LRB__, __the Guardian__, __the New Statesman__ and __Novara Media__. The brutal truth behind our automated futures and the new world of work We are told that the future of work will be increasingly automated. Algorithms, processing massive amounts of information at startling speed, will lead us to a new world of effortless labour and a post-work utopia of ever expanding leisure. But behind the gleaming surface stands millions of workers, often in the Global South, manually processing data for a pittance. Recent years have seen a boom in online crowdworking platforms like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Clickworker, and these have become an increasingly important source of work for millions of people. And it is these badly paid tasks, not algorithms, that make our digital lives possible. Used to process data for everything from the mechanics of self-driving cars to Google image search, this is an increasingly powerful part of the new digital economy, although one hidden and rarely spoken of. But what happens to work when it makes itself obsolete. In this stimulating work that blends political economy, studies of contemporary work, and speculations on the future of capitalism, Phil Jones looks at what this often murky and hidden form of labour looks like, and what it says about the state of global capitalism. "Let Phil Jones be your guide to the darkest underbelly of work under digitized capitalism, where tech barons surveil workers' every move and sell their clicks for profit, and the 'job' falls apart but we work more all the time. A beautifully written call to arms to stop this miserable future before it comes for all of us." --Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Won't Love You Back "In this fast-paced and exciting read, Phil Jones explores the hidden abodes of the digital economy, where the world’s surplus workers label images, moderate content, and teach algorithms how to identify common house pets, all for a few cents an hour. /Work without the worker/ explores how dispossessed microworkers might band together to spearhead a global movement for free-time and material security." --Aaron Benanev, author of Automation and the Future of Work "Takes readers to the hidden abode of production of artificial intelligence: a world of precarious, highly exploited, and onerous microwork increasingly performed in the slums, prisons, and refugee camps of sclerotic post-crisis capitalism. With an incandescent urgency, Jones argues that such digitally fragmented piecework threatens livelihoods of all sorts, but also that it offers a tantalizing potential for a world beyond wage labor -- if we can fight for it." --Gavin Mueller, author of Breaking Things at Work "Beneath the noisy sphere of autonomous robots and smart assistants, Jones clearly and patiently reveals the hidden abode of underpaid, overworked, and insecure labourers that underpin our digital society. This is an essential guide to an often invisible world." —Nick Snricek, author of Platform Capitalism Phil Jones is a researcher for the think tank Autonomy. He regularly writes for publications such as the LRB , the Guardian , the New Statesman and Novara Media . An Accessible Analysis Of The New Forms Of Work Whose Seismic Changes Will Increasingly Determine The Future Of Capitalism Automation And The Decline In Industrial Employment Have Lead To Rising Fears Of A Workless Future. But What Happens When Your Work Itself Is The Thing That Will Make Your Job Obsolete? In The Past Few Years, Online Crowdworking Platforms - Like Amazon's Mechanical Turk And Clickworker - Have Become An Increasingly Important Source Of Work, Particularly For Those In The Global South. Here, Small Tasks Are Assigned To People Online, And Are Often Used To Train Algorithms To Spot Patterns, Patterns Through Machine Learning Those Same Algorithms Will Then Be Able To Spot More Effectively Than Humans. Used For Everything From The Mechanics Of Self-driving Cars To Google Image Search, This Is An Increasingly Powerful Part Of The Digital Ecomomy. But What Happens To Work When It Makes Itself Obsolete. In This Stimulating Work That Blends Political Economy, Studies Of Contemporary Work, And Speculations On The Future Of Capitalism, Phil Jones Looks At What This Often Murky And Hidden Form Of Labour Looks Like, And What It Says About The State Of Global Capitalism. We are told that the future of work will be increasingly automated. Algorithms, processing massive amounts of information at startling speed, will lead us to a new world of effortless labour and a post-work utopia of ever expanding leisure. But behind the gleaming surface stands millions of workers, often in the Global South, manually processing data for a pittance.0Recent years have seen a boom in online crowdworking platforms like Amazon's Mechanical Turk and Clickworker, and these have become an increasingly important source of work for millions of people. And it is these badly paid tasks, not algorithms, that make our digital lives possible. Used to process data for everything from the mechanics of self-driving cars to Google image search, this is an increasingly powerful part of the new digital economy, although one hidden and rarely spoken of. But what happens to work when it makes itself obsolete. In this stimulating work that blends political economy, studies of contemporary work, and speculations on the future of capitalism, Phil Jones looks at what this often murky and hidden form of labour looks like, and what it says about the state of global capitalism Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Introduction: The Mechanical Turk 1. The Surplus of Silicon Valley 2. Artificial or Human Intelligence? 3. Human-as-a-Service 4. Grave Work 5. Wageless Struggle Postscript: A Microwork Utopia? Acknowledgements Notes