Yogyakarta, September 25, 2025—The Center for Digital Society (CfDS) of Universitas Gadjah Mada collaborated with the University of Oxford and Worker Exchange in organizing Difusion #127 titled “Algorithms at the Wheel: Global Perspectives on Ride-Hailing Work”. This discussion brought together Reuben Binns (University of Oxford), James Farrar (Worker Exchange), Ayom Mratita Purbandani (CfDS UGM), as well as Suci Lestari Yuana (Universitas Gadjah Mada).
This public forum highlighted how the algorithm manages and controls the workload of ride-hailing gig workers globally. This forum delved upon whether or not the artificial intelligence based-system can actually produce efficiency, or make gig workers more vulnerable. Through a research report titled “Precarity by Design: AI, Labor Discipline, and the Welfare of Ride-hailing Drivers in Jakarta and Gunungkidul”, researchers at CfDS found out that the aspects of opacity in the systems of AI is not just a mere coincidence, but a calculated approach in supporting the interest of the platform. This algorithm works by exploiting the flexibility of gig workers, where drivers need to work in order to be visible in the system.