Algorithmic dimensions of platform labor

cartographing Uber’s surge pricing

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.2046

Keywords:

Algorithm, Platform, Surge Pricing, Labor, Uber

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a conceptual look into the algorithmic mediations in the framework of the platform labor. In dialogue with critical algorithm studies, we emphasize how its material and performative dimensions act contingently on online platforms. We undertook a brief cartography of Uber's dynamic pricing by exploring different documents and an ethnographic-inspired observation. Based on the company's and the drivers' perspective, the analysis explores the rhetorical, infrastructural and affective dimensions of dynamic pricing. The study allows us to discuss how algorithms are repositioned and resignified within a complex sociotechnical network strongly embedded in neoliberal rationality.

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Author Biographies

Ana Guerra, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Mestre pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, com bolsa de fomento CNPq.

Carlos d'Andréa, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Doutor pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Linguísticos da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Professor do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação (PPGCOM) e professor associado do Departamento de Comunicação Social da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG).

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Published

01-11-2021

How to Cite

Guerra, A., & d’Andréa, C. . (2021). Algorithmic dimensions of platform labor: cartographing Uber’s surge pricing. E-Compós, 24. https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.2046

Issue

Vol. 24 (2021): E-compós 2021

Section

Artigos Originais

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Copyright (c) 2021 Ana Gonçalves Guerra, Carlos Frederico de Brito d'Andréa

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