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 10min 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
Cowo
rker.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
