The conference aims to explore a fundamental contradiction of digital labor. On the one hand, algorithms and digital technologies shape a new labor regime characterized by data extraction, widespread surveillance, and strict control on workers, which result in the fragmentation, individualization and casualization of jobs.  On the other hand, digital labor also brings about an unexpected resurgence of labor conflicts. Most protests have been worker-led or initiated by grassroots organizations, while traditional trade unions have taken a leading role in some cases. Informal, sometimes individual actions of resistance have become increasingly common, in addition to formal, collective mobilizations. Some interventions have involved counter-uses of digital means in the workplace, for example through the creation of apps, tools, and software with the explicit aim of enabling workers to understand and reformulate their working conditions. In this perspective, digital affordances are open to interpretations, uses and practices that not only escape platforms’ surveillance but also establish social relationships other than those of labor exploitation, thereby undermining the efficacy of platforms’ power. This evidence suggests that digital platforms may not have an exclusive power to shape the digital age, and that workers, individually and collectively, can radically transform the trajectories of technological development.

 

Uncovering the richness of collective and individual contestation practices that are emerging at the core of platform capitalism is essential to grasp the recent transformations of labor and the broader tendencies that are reshaping the digital age. This means looking at workers’ struggles not only as an object of research, but also as a crucial moment in which new knowledge is produced. Contestations reveal the reasons of workers’ grievances, grounded in their daily experiences, identities, skills, and aspirations. They bring to light aspects of labor organization and power asymmetries that would otherwise remain invisible, thereby potentially challenging the narratives of platforms. They allow comparing and contrasting the viewpoints of workers to those of intermediaries and clients, bringing more voices into the debate. Valuing this knowledge is a key goal of INDL-8 and an essential step to understand the current challenges and future perspectives of digital labor.