Talking about Platforms

Algorithmic Management with Lindsey Cameron

Feb 19, 2025

Lindsey D. Cameron, Assistant Professor at Wharton and a Berkman Klein Center faculty affiliate, sheds light on algorithmic management and platform economies. She reveals how platforms often mask exploitation through declining wages and safety issues. Lindsey explores the sharing economy's narrative twist and discusses the control mechanisms of labor platforms. She emphasizes the necessity for transparency and accountability in platform work, especially concerning its implications in the Global South, fostering a more equitable future for gig workers.

39:22

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Episode guests

Lindsey D. Cameron

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Quick takeaways

Lindsey Cameron discusses how algorithmic management within closed labor platforms like Uber perpetuates exploitation through strict control and declining wages.

The podcast highlights the changing narrative of labor platforms from community-oriented sharing to profit-driven models, critically impacting workers' rights and experiences.

Deep dives

Personal Journey into Platform Research

The guest shares a personal narrative that shaped her interest in platform research, particularly focusing on labor platforms as a means of social mobility. She reflects on her mother's challenges during the Great Recession, where the loss of a stable job led her to gig work, highlighting the struggle for downward social mobility. This background inspired her to explore how individuals rely on platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit to navigate economic instability. Ultimately, her research became a way to understand the systemic issues embedded in platform work and labor dynamics.

Intro

2min

Navigating Gig Work in the Platform Economy

25min

Comparative Analysis of Public Transport Efficiency and Accessibility

2min

Local Platforms and Cooperative Successes in Food Delivery

3min

Navigating Platform Cooperatives and Labor Markets

7min

Platform Power and the Future of Work

Guest Lindsey D. Cameron

Bio Lindsey D. Cameron is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and a faculty affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Her research focuses on algorithmic management, artificial intelligence, and platform work. Lindsey became interested in platforms after observing her mother's experiences in the gig economy after a job loss, which sparked her interest in social mobility and labor platforms.

Summary In this episode of Talking About Platforms, Lindsey D. Cameron discusses her research on labor platforms, platform power, and the evolving nature of platform economies. She emphasizes that platforms are not neutral entities but are embedded with values that can lead to exploitation. She explores how this exploitation is visible on labor platforms through declining wages and safety violations but is often subtler on digital platforms.

Lindsey also addresses the co-option of the sharing economy narrative by early labor platforms and the role of algorithmic management in controlling workers. She distinguishes between open and closed labor markets, highlighting the varying degrees of control exerted by platforms. The discussion further covers the need for platform accountability, the importance of transparent rules, and the potential for on-demand platform work in formalizing economies, especially in the Global South. We touch on the increasing entanglement of platform work within society, shaping decisions, and capital flows.

Publications & Projects Mentioned

Rahman, H. A., Karunakaran, A., & Cameron, L. D. (2024). Taming platform power: Taking accountability into account in the management of platforms. Academy of Management Annals, 18(1), 251-294
Cameron, L. D. (2024). The Making of the "Good Bad" Job: How Algorithmic Management Manufactures Consent Through Constant and Confined Choices. Administrative Science Quarterly, 69(2), 458-514.
Cameron, L. D. (2022). "Making out" while driving: Relational and efficiency games in the gig economy. Organization Science, 33(1), 231-252.

Links

Lindsey's Website: lindseydcameron.com
X (Twitter): @LindseyDCameron6

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Talking about Platforms

Algorithmic Management with Lindsey Cameron

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Personal Journey into Platform Research

Exploitation in Labor Platforms

Shifting Narratives of Sharing Economy

Future of Platform Work in the Global South

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts