Ghost work is work performed by a human, but believed by a customer to be performed by an automated process. The term was coined by anthropologist
Mary L. Gray and computer scientist
Siddharth Suri in their 2019 book, ''Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass''.
Definition
Gray and Suri state that ghost work focuses on task-based and content-driven work that can be funneled through the Internet and
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that des ...
s (APIs). They say that this work can include labelling, editing, and sorting information or content, as well as
content moderation
On websites that allow users to create content, content moderation is the process of detecting contributions that are irrelevant, obscene, illegal, harmful, or insulting. The purpose of content moderation is to remove or apply a warning label to ...
.
They also state that ghost work can be performed remotely and on a contractual basis and that it is an invisible workforce, scaled for those who desire full-time, part-time, or ad-hoc work.
A benefit of ghost work is flexible hours because the worker chooses when they complete a task, making it an appealing option for those in between jobs or in need of side work.
Ghost work is differentiated from
gig work
Gig or GIG may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Concert, known informally as a gig
* ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy
* ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992)
* GIG (''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers''), a character
* ' ...
or
temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time-based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
because it is task-based and uncredited. While gig work involves a general platform, ghost work emphasizes the software or algorithm aspect of assisting machines to automate further. Through labelling content, ghost workers teach the machine to learn. Ghost workers at Amazon have found ways to help each other and self-organize, often through
WhatsApp
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
groups where they mobilize to push for changes to the platform.
False perception
According to
Lilly Irani, an associate professor of labor at the University of California, San Diego, the computer science world and
tech companies are invested in producing the image of technological magic. She says that
MTurk hides the people involved in the production, whose visibility could otherwise obstruct this favorable perception. Her view is that this perception isn't only aimed at the public image of the company but also at investors, who are significantly more likely to back businesses built on
scalable
Scalability is the property of a system to handle a growing amount of work. One definition for software systems specifies that this may be done by adding resources to the system.
In an economic context, a scalable business model implies that ...
technology, rather than unwieldy work forces demanding office space and minimum wages. In addition, she feels that there is a strong belief that these workers are a