Work

Should We Treat Data as Labor? Moving Beyond “Free”

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: In the digital economy, user data is typically treated as capital created by corporations observing willing individuals. This neglects users' roles in creating data, reducing incentives for users, distributing the gains from the data economy unequally, and stoking fears of automation. Instead, treating data (at least partially) as labor could help resolve these issues and restore a functioning market for user contributions, but may run against the near-term interests of dominant data monopsonists who have benefited from data being treated as “free.” Countervailing power, in the form of competition, a data labor movement, and/or thoughtful regulation could help restore balance.

Source: AEA Papers and Proceedings

DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181003

Authors: Imanol Arrieta-Ibarra, Leonard Goff, Diego Jiménez-Hernández, Jaron Lanier, E. Glen Weyl

Institutions: Stanford University, Columbia University, Microsoft (United States), Yale University

Language: English

Topic: Digital Economy and Work Transformation

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W3125603643

FWCI: 36.93

Cites: 9

Cited by: 224

Related to: 10