Algorithms of Suspicion: Political Economy and Politics in Platform Fraud Detection
Algorithms and AI impact access to work and other essential resources, especially for low-income people. This talk examines the combination of policies, practices, and algorithms of suspicion that control workers’ access to wages and work on digital platforms. This case study begins with the problem of opaque account suspensions suffered by good faith workers on the platform Amazon Mechanical Turk. Through an investigation of patents, research papers, and industry documentation, I examine assumptions underlying models of good and bad workers. I show how technologists transform the legal category “fraud” into a cultural category that legitimizes unilateral algorithmic firings of workers. I conclude by examining implications for employment discrimination and presenting alternative processes demanded by workers themselves.
This lecture will be held both online & in person. You are welcome to join us either in South Hall or via Zoom.
Speaker
Lilly Irani is an associate professor of communication & science studies at University of California, San Diego. She also holds an affiliation in computer science and engineering. At UCSD, she serves as the faculty director of the UC San Diego Labor Center. She is author of Chasing Innovation: Making Entrepreneurial Citizens in Modern India (Princeton University Press, 2019), winner of both the 2020 International Communication Association Outstanding Book Award and the 2019 Diana Forsythe Prize for feminist anthropological research on work, science, or technology, including biomedicine. Her research examines culture and inequality in high-tech work, as well as design and political strategies for countering inequality. She is a co-founder of the digital worker advocacy organization Turkopticon.
Contact
If you have questions about this event, please contact Peter Marchetti.
