Automation is coming for the gig economy
A safety net for people who have fallen out of the formal labour market is being dismantled.
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This bodes poorly when gig platforms have indeed become a safety net for people who have fallen out of – or struggled to access – the formal labour market.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Sarah O'Connor
Whether with a smile or a shudder, both the champions and the critics of the “gig economy” have often portrayed it as the future of work. But has it actually put workers on a fast track to being displaced by automation?
The year 2026 has brought a reckoning for white-collar gig platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, which connect companies to freelancers all over the world to complete well-defined projects such as copywriting or graphic design.