The gig workers fighting back against the algorithms

Can they take back control of their livelihoods? Around the world, employees of ride-hailing apps like Lyft and Uber have felt increasingly exploited by unforgiving algorithms, with most struggling to implement changes to prevent this mistreatment. However, the drivers of the Indonesian ride-hailing app, Gojek have said enough is enough and have formed a growing resistance against the dispatch algorithms that dominate their lives. In contrast with the biggest names in the ride-hailing industry, Gojek was initially welcomed after successfully turning taxi-driving into a semiformal industry. However, it turned out to be too good to be true for most riders. Here Karen Hao and Nadine Freischlad meet with some of the Gojek drivers to discuss the impact of this reality, which resulted in them losing a significant amount of agency, working longer hours for less money, and having no say in their working conditions.