I am thrilled to announce the (open access) publication of ‘Research ethics in the age of digital platforms‘ in Science and Engineering Ethics, co-authored with José Luis Molina, Antonio A. Casilli & Antonio Santos Ortega.
We examine the implications of the use of digital micro-working platforms for scientific research. Although these platforms offer ways to make a living or to earn extra income, micro-workers lack fundamental labour rights and ‘decent’ working conditions, especially in the Global South. We argue that scientific research currently fails to treat micro-workers in the same way as in-person human participants, producing de facto a double morality: one applied to people with rights acknowledged by states and international bodies (e.g. Helsinki Declaration), the other to ‘guest workers of digital autocracies’ who have almost no rights at all.
Data Big and Small 