Please join the AFL-CIO for a discussion with anthropologist Mary L. Gray and Cathy Feingold on Gray’s latest book, Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass, a collaboration with computer scientist Siddharth Suri.

IN CONVERSATION

Cathy Feingold, @CathyFeingold
Director of International Department, AFL-CIO

Mary L. Gray, @marylgray
Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research New England
Associate Professor, Indiana University
Fellow, Harvard University Berkman Klein Center

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ghost Work offers a necessary and revelatory exposé of the invisible human workforce that powers the web—and that foreshadows the true future of work. It unveils how services delivered by tech giants can only function smoothly, thanks to the judgment and experience of a vast, invisible human labor force. Workers in this “ghost economy” usually earn less than legal minimums for traditional work, they have no health benefit, and they can be fired at any time for any reason or none. There are no labor laws to govern this kind of work, and these latter-day assembly lines draw in—and all too often overwork and underpay—a surprisingly diverse range of workers. However, Ghost Work also shows how ghost workers, employers and society at large can ensure that this new kind of work creates opportunity—rather than misery—for those who do it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gray is a leading expert in the emerging field of AI and ethics, particularly research methods at the intersections of computer and social sciences. She sits on the editorial boards of Cultural Anthropology, Television and New Media, the International Journal of Communication and Social Media + Society. Currently, Gray is a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research New England and an associate professor at Indiana University.