Bridging the gap between critical algorithm studies and the social sciences: the case of platform work

Abstract

Since the mid-2000s platforms and platform work have greatly proliferated. Although also research on platforms and platforms has expanded, there seems to be a great gulf between IT- and social research on these issues. In this article, I show, using sociologist Maurizio Lazzarato’s concepts, that the technical infrastructure of the platform, in particular the algorithm, has a direct impact on work and the agency of the platform worker. From this perspective, it is possible to ask critical questions about platforms and platform work from a multidisciplinary viewpoint. Methodologically, an ethnographic approach that sees algorithms as part of culture, with its own institutions, impact on people and intersection with different contexts, could support co-operation between different disciplines. When such an approach is combined with insights from algorithm studies, research is also relevant for existing political questions regarding platform workers’ labour market status and the functioning of platform firms