A Gig Surveillance Economy

Abstract

Eighteen years ago, the New York Times Magazine reported on a proposed online project aimed at protecting the country’s 47,000 strategic facilities, including oil pipelines, power stations, and dams. How do you protect such a vast network of sites vulnerable to sabotage, with limited government resources and personnel? The answer: pay freelance “spotters” eight to ten dollars an hour to check pictures sent to their home computers in order to answer the question: “do you see a person or vehicle in this image?” A confirmed positive sighting would prompt a law enforcement response, “in less than 30 seconds.” This is an early version of a phenomenon identified and discussed in this essay: a gig surveillance economy.

Keywords: policing, surveillance, automation, artificial intelligence, gig economy, fourth amendment, criminal justice, algorithm

JEL Classification: K14