Between “World Class Work” and “Proletarianized Labor”: Digital labor imaginaries in the global South

Abstract

This paper attempts to avoid both overly optimistic and pessimistic accounts of the ‘on-demand’ global economy and of ‘platform labor’ in the Global South. It instead considers both how the socio-cultural and economic complexities of the worker environment might drive the attractiveness of this form of labor and how histories of colonialism might make local employment and upward mobility less of a viable option for workers from the Global South. Drawing from in-depth interviews and analysis of multiple texts circulating in online freelance forums, Facebook groups, and ‘freelancer’ events, we look at how freelance workers and platform managers enacted and articulated classed and colonial digital labor imaginaries. We identify three such interconnected imaginaries and label them as follows: that of ‘distinction,’ ‘transcendence,’ and ‘flexibility’. In fleshing out these digital labor imaginaries, we discuss the role of virtual spaces, online communities, and the influencers who help push these imaginaries within the digital platform. And in exploring digital labor in the context of its socio-political and cultural embeddedness, we aim to show how workers constituted a sense of self and agency while being embedded in aspirations that were fraught at best and false at worst.

Entrepreneurial Solidarities: Social Media Collectives and Filipino Digital Platform Workers

“…Providing a boost to the Philippine economy, this, however, constructs the Filipino as a global commodity and a colonized subject. As the labor primarily comprises off-shored low-skilled occupations being taken up by the country’s highly educated and young workforce, platform labor in the Philippines is distinctly ambiguous because of the jobs mismatch that predominate this kind of work, which is often characterized as “low prestige” in the Global North (Bolton, 2010; Kimura, 2003, p. 265; Soriano & Cabañes, 2020).…”

“…Filipino platform laborers in particular imagine themselves as a cut above other workers. They see themselves as well-positioned to provide skilled global service work, develop their professional selves through the distinct challenges of their jobs, and live a flexible life that circumvents the heavy traffic, bad roads, inefficient public transport, and other infrastructural immobilities in their country (Soriano & Cabañes, 2020).…”

Digital labour in the Philippines: emerging forms of brokerage

“…Now, platform labour is being promoted by the government and the media to address the needs of unemployed and marginalised groups, and as a complement to other forms of BPO work, a catalyst for urban and rural development, and a viable option for young graduates, and Filipino migrant workers. Filipino professionals are also migrating to platform labour under the promise of autonomy, flexibility, and the possibility for higher earning, especially in dollars, without having to leave home (Soriano and Cabañes 2020a, 2020b).…”

“…Digital platform labour has experienced a significant uptake in the Philippines in recent years, with government actively promoting digital labour as a solution to unemployment. Along with labour migration and business process outsourcing (BPO) that usher Filipinos into becoming 'world class service workers' (Soriano and Cabañes, 2020b), Filipino platform workers (more commonly called online Filipino freelancers locally) have become one of the largest suppliers of platform labour globally. Examining the brokerage process underlying the digital labour economy opens the black box on the infrastructure that supports the popularity of platform labour and online freelancing in the Philippines.…”

O chão de fábrica (brasileiro) da inteligência artificial: a produção de dados e o papel da comunicação entre trabalhadores de Appen e Lionbridge

“…O slogan da Appen, por exemplo, é: "confiança para desenvolver IA com dados de excelência -a inteligência artificial vai melhorar o mundo". Isso ajuda a consolidar, entre os trabalhadores, imaginários positivos de IA e dataficação (Soriano e Cabanes, 2019;Beer, 2019).…”