Virtual sweatshops

Virtual sweatshops are a form of crowdsourcing in which companies break large tasks down into smaller tasks that can then be outsourced online to independent contractors. These smaller tasks require human intelligence that computers, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are unable to solve. The first company to use virtual sweatshops cannot be traced, however, the trend began in the early 2000s. Most companies that use virtual sweatshops are not transparent about the process, but the phenomenon gained media attention in December of 2014 when the workers at Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, a form of a virtual sweatshop, protested against the company’s owner. Virtual sweatshops have come under scrutiny in the later half of the 2010s, as ethical concerns regarding working conditions, policy gaps, and transparency have arisen.

Overview

Background

The name “virtual sweatshop” derived from the term “sweatshop”, coined in 1884, which signifies a shop or factory that works employees for long hours and at low wages. Virtual sweatshops are often likened to sweatshops in the Industrial Revolution, except virtual sweatshops are accessible online and can hire on a global scale. Defining attributes of virtual sweatshops include: employees work on tasks outsourced by a company, employees receive low compensation for completed tasks (in US currency, wages can start as low as 1 penny), and all work is completed online. The origins of virtual sweatshops have not been traced to a particular instance in history, however, their usage and popularity emerged in the early 2000s. In 2013, the online outsourcing industry was estimated to have earned $2 billion in revenue, and expected to increase to $25 billion by 2020. This market, comprising of sites like Clickworker, UpWork, Mechanical Turk, Crowdflower, and more, has grown immensely since the early 2000s and is anticipated to continue to prosper well into the 2020s.

Applications

Virtual sweatshops can serve many purposes and are most frequently utilized by large companies. Companies typically outsource small tasks — such as tagging photos, taking surveys, or verifying URLs — to workers all around the world. These tasks can be very simple for humans to complete, but are ones that computers are not yet equipped to handle. Once employees have passed a computer skills and reading comprehension test, they are put to work. Virtual sweatshops can also be used as a platform for companies to challenge scientists in solving complicated problems for financial rewards. This application is the most lucrative form of employment in virtual sweatshops, as these companies are willing to pay high for problems their immediate staff were unable to solve. Virtual sweatshops have also revolutionized data collection for researchers, who’s online surveys can reach a more representative sample of the population.

Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Mechanical Turk was launched by the company Amazon in 2005 and is one of the largest virtual sweatshops in the U.S., with over 0.5 million virtual workers. Workers are referred to as “Turkers” and complete HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) that are posted on Amazon’s site. The Turkers are able to choose which tasks to complete and are paid in credits for Mechanical Turk was launched by the company Amazon in 2005 and is one of the largest virtual sweatshops in the U.S., with over 0.5 million virtual workers. Workers are referred to as “Turkers” and complete HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) that are posted on Amazon’s site. The Turkers are able to choose which tasks to complete and are paid in credits for Amazon.com. Turkers can be located anywhere in the world, but their employers must be located in the United States. Employers, also known as Requesters, are able to set the criteria to be hired, and can accept or reject the final product the Turker submits. Mechanical Turk was originally the most successful form of crowdsourcing at the time of its release, but other companies followed suit in the later half of the 2000s and in the 2010s to harness the utility and power virtual sweatshops can provide.

Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica was a company that developed out of the SCL Group in 2013. Its main purpose was to collect data on people’s personalities so that an algorithm could be constructed for campaigns to more effectively target viewers. The company played an important role in Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign and in Britain’s EU membership referendum Leave campaign. Cambridge Analytica is an instance in which virtual sweatshops were used for analytical and research purposes. To acquire personal data, the company utilized Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics, a survey tool, to hire Turkers to take personality quizzes. The quiz paid Turkers $1 to $2 to complete the survey and give access to their personal Facebook data. Around 320,000 Turkers participated in the survey, and unknowingly gave Cambridge Analytica access to at least 160 Facebook profiles per Turker. This data was then used by the company in developing their algorithm.

Reception and Awareness

Virtual sweatshops remain largely out of the media and the general public’s knowledge — many companies that use virtual sweatshops ask workers not to disclose that they have worked for them. This form of labor can allow workers more flexibility in their schedules, as the workers are the ones choosing which tasks to complete and when. Since virtual sweatshops are by nature virtual, they also allow employees to work from home. Flexibility, location, and simpleness of tasks are the main motivations why employees work for virtual sweatshops. A Christmas email campaign, initiated in December 2014 on behalf of Amazon’s Turkers, began protesting against the terms of virtual labor. The campaign, directed at Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezo, demands better representation and recognition for workers, and also for more regulation. It protests against the lack of legal consequences, such as employers being able to not pay their employees, and requests for minimum payment rates for work. In response to inconsistent and unreliable working conditions, online forums have been created for virtual workers to trade tips and to evaluate sources of work.

Ethical Concerns

Policy Gaps

Virtual Trust

Job Exploitation

Use of Virtual Sweatshops in Research

See Also

• Crowdsourcing
• Cambridge Analytica
• Mechanical Turk

By Ashley Carroll