The Workers'
Algorithm Observatory
Worker-led audits in the platform economy
Contact Us
WAO helps workers and allies investigate black-box
algorithmic systems
We're crowdsourcing the data necessary for meaningful,
scientific audits
Our group is building tools and support for workers and
allies
Tools
We're building tools to investigate black-box algorithmic
systems
FairFare
FairFare helps drivers, organizers, and policy-makers
understand the ride hail industry by crowdsourcing fare data from drivers. Drivers securely
and anonymously link their job data to analyze average fare
breakdowns and changes over time, in several states
nationwide. This pilot study runs through Summer 2024, is
based at Princeton University, and is funded by the Mozilla
Foundation. Read about our launch in this blog post, learn about our early findings in this 10-min video
with drivers in Colorado, and sign up for the study at
the getfairfare.org website.
The Shipt calculator
The Shipt Calculator was a worker-led study of a black box
algorithm used by the delivery company Shipt. Willy Solis, a member of
the Gig Workers Collective who led the study, collaborated with Coworker.org and our team to crowdsource and analyze data shared
by over one hundred workers using a custom texting bot. We
found that wages decreased for a majority but increased for
a minority, suggesting that the algorithm determines more
than just pay – it affects worker agency and well-being,
too. Learn more about this in a blog post and 11-minute film
produced in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and the FAccT
conference.
About
The WAO is a crowdsourced auditing collaboration.
Investigating black-box platform algorithms, such as those
used by Uber and DoorDash, faces major challenges in accessing
the data necessary for a meaningful audit. To solve this,
we’re developing tools and support for workers and allies to
crowdsource data and investigate the black-box algorithmic
systems behind the platforms that determine pay, schedule, and
more, in the platform economy and beyond. We launched the WAO in 2022. We are currently a nonprofit
initiative with funding from the Mozilla Tech Fund 2023 "Auditing AI" cohort.
Team
We're a team of applied and academic researchers supporting
workers and allies
Contact
We help workers and allies audit platform algorithms and AI
