Gig workers are endlessly exploited. AI could make more of us share their fate

As companies integrate AI and hire fewer employees, a shift toward a ‘gig economy’ will commenceIn 2024, the buy-now-pay-later company Klarna announced that it would cut hundreds of customer service roles and begin using an artificial intelligence chatbot instead. The move was expected to save the company millions. At first glance, the reversal appeared to be a victory for human workers in the age of AI. The reality was more complex. Instead of bringing on full-time customer service agents, who Klarna contracts through an outside agency, it instead brought on workers in what Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has described as “an Uber type of set-up”.

Now, an AI chatbot continues to handle most of customers’ basic queries, while a growing number of gig workers handle the more advanced ones. “Just like somebody can go and drive an Uber for a while, they can actually jump on and work for Klarna’s customer service,” Siemiatkowski said on a podcast in February. Continue reading...

Reporting on the story is continuing to develop as our newsroom monitors the wire for fresh detail. At this stage the picture is still being assembled from initial dispatches, and editors are working to corroborate the early account against secondary sources before adding further claims to the record. The pace of incoming information has been steady but uneven, with some threads firming up quickly while others remain partial. Readers should treat the present account as a working summary rather than a closed file, and revisit the page through the day for material additions. Where new statements, documents or on-the-record interviews become available, they will be folded into the body of the article rather than published as separate updates, so the narrative remains coherent end to end.

Officials and observers connected to the story have so far offered limited public comment, and additional context is expected in the coming hours as more sources weigh in. Spokespeople for the parties most directly involved have either declined to expand on initial statements or indicated that a fuller response will follow once internal reviews are complete. Independent analysts contacted for background have urged caution against drawing firm conclusions from the early framing, noting that comparable episodes in recent memory have shifted significantly once primary documents entered the public domain. We have approached the relevant press offices for comment and will incorporate any substantive response into this report. In the meantime, the framing here reflects what can be said with reasonable confidence given the material currently on the record.