Mark Graham

Discover our latest article, “Planetary Sex Markets,” now published in Porn Studies. It draws on research led by the brilliant Robbie Warin and Chloe Gott.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The new @oecd-ocde.bsky.social Fairwork AI Ratings report shows who powers AI and how Humans in the Loop earned a 6/10 score after 14 policy changes.

@towardsfairwork.bsky.social now offers certification so buyers can demand higher standards across AI supply chains.

wp.oecd.ai/app/uploads/...

Frontiers | Reflection AI: feeding the machine - the hidden labour behind AI tools and ethical implications for higher education As university instructors integrate AI tools, such as large language models (LLMs) into their pedagogy, they must grapple with the ethical and practical impl...

This paper is a call to action for the academic community to lead by example, fostering a more just and responsible AI ecosystem. I invite you to read the full paper and join the conversation.

Find it here: www.frontiersin.org/journals/com...

Our research calls upon higher education instructors and students to become active advocates for improved working conditions across the entire AI supply chain. This is a collective responsibility.

We strongly advocate for the adoption of the Fairwork scoring system as a robust framework to guide ethical engagement with AI technologies within academic institutions.

The seamless integration of AI in higher education relies heavily on a significant, yet largely invisible, workforce. We emphasise the importance of recognising and valuing their contributions.

AI is not autonomous. It depends on invisible labour: data annotators, content moderators, voice workers, data centre techs. Often underpaid, emotionally strained, and hidden from view.

New article out in Frontiers in Communication by me, @jonasvalente.bsky.social & @oguzalyanak.bsky.social:
"Reflection AI: Feeding the Machine – The Hidden Labour Behind AI Tools and Ethical Implications for Higher Education"
It confronts the human cost behind the AI systems now flooding education.

Call centres could be a gold mine for Africa Forget factories. There is a better answer to the continent’s jobs crisis

Interesting piece by @economist.com discussing how outsourcing could revolutionize Africa’s economy, with expert commentary from @geoplace.bsky.social @towardsfairwork.bsky.social @oii.ox.ac.uk on implications for Africa's workers. More here: www.economist.com/middle-east-... #outsourcing #Africa

Check out our new paper in the Industrial Law Journal: Fair Work for Platform Workers: Lessons from the EU Directive and Beyond

OII | Fair Digital Economies Investigating and addressing the systemic inequities embedded in digitally mediated labour and economic systems.

Lead author: Sandra Fredman, Co-authors: @Darcy Du Toit, Alessio Bertolini, @jonasvalente.bsky.social and @geoplace.bsky.social. Find out more about the Fair Digital Economies research project at the @oii.ox.ac.uk: bit.ly/3TihU28 .

Fair Work for Platform Workers: Lessons from the EU Directive and Beyond The adoption of an EU Directive on Platform Work in March 2024 signals a crucial acknowledgement of the need for legal regulation of a burgeoning form of w

New paper alert! Latest work from @towardsfairwork.bsky.social researchers analyses the implications of the Platform Work Directive and suggests ways forward for the proposed ILO Convention. Read their paper: bit.ly/4nGs5LY 1/2

ttt – titel, thesen, temperamente: Wie Datenarbeiter für KI ausgebeutet werden - hier anschauen Hinter KI liegt ein System globaler Ungleichheit. Das zeigt das neue Buch 'Feeding the Machine' von Mark Graham et al. Auch Klickarbeiter:innen, die 'ttt' während einer investigativen Recherche traf, ...

I appeared on ARD's programme “Titel Thesen Temperamente,” talking about the data workers behind AI.

Catch the segment here 👉 www.ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZD...

AI Value Chains: from Exploitation to Organizing -- with @geoplace.bsky.social, ‪@martinkrz.bsky.social, and Uma Rani Amara - Featured panel @sasemeeting.bsky.social

08:30-10:00 Friday, 11 July, 2025 - Room 517C

virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/37937/...

The German version of our book is now out, and is getting some pretty good reviews in the German press. Here's a few of them:

www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...

www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/ki-feeding-t...

Our article "Beyond the ‘Gig Economy’: Towards Variable Experiences of Job Quality in Platform Work" has been published by 'Work, Employment and Society'. With Nick Martindale and @brendanburchell.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1177/0950...

As AI grows more powerful, it’s easy to overlook the people behind the data.
At Fairwork, we’re working to change that — with a new way to help companies strengthen labour standards across AI supply chains.

Make sure to follow us for the launch this June.
#Fairwork #AISupplyChain

A UK-EU youth mobility scheme could feed a generation into exploitative gig work The UK–EU Youth Mobility Scheme offers real promise.

Jonas Valente and I have just published a new @lbc.co.uk opinion piece, drawing on our @towardsfairwork.bsky.social cloudwork study to warn that a UK–EU youth mobility scheme could inadvertently funnel young people into exploitative gig roles: www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...
@jonasvalente.bsky.social

Online gig economy exposes global labour protection failures, Oxford study finds Most online gig economy platforms are failing to meet even minimum labour standards around pay, working conditions and contracts.

Great piece from HR Review highlighting a new report from @towardsfairwork.bsky.social exposing corporate failure to provide adequate worker protections in Cloudwork economy. Article includes comment from @geoplace.bsky.social and @jonasvalente.bsky.social @oii.ox.ac.uk. Story here: bit.ly/45hbFTh

Proud of my @towardsfairwork.bsky.social team, who were finalists at the University of Oxford Vice-Chancellor’s Awards yesterday

Jobs Fairwork is hiring a Research Assistant

Fixed term RA role with @geoplace.bsky.social - fair.work/en/fw/jobs/

Jobs Fairwork is hiring a Research Assistant

We're hiring at @towardsfairwork.bsky.social

Role: Research Assistant
Institution: Oxford Internet Institute
Salary: Grade 6RS: £34,982- £40,855 per annum
Contract: Full-time, fixed-term until 31 October 2025
Application Deadline: Midday, 19 May 2025

fair.work/en/fw/jobs/

Meine Sammeltbesprechung aktueller Bücher über KI und ökonomische Macht ist in der soziologischen Revue erschienen. Ich diskutiere Bücher von Heinlein und Huchler, Hirsch-Kreinsen, @jamesmuldoon.bsky.social, @geoplace.bsky.social und Cant sowie @ceciliarikap.bsky.social . doi.org/10.1515/srsr...

Feeding the Machine. Hinter den Kulissen der KI-Imperien »Das wichtigste Buch, das im derzeitigen Fieber der KI-Publikationen geschrieben wurde.«Stephen FryWillkommen in der KI-Fabrik – über die neue Ausbeutung der Menschen hinter der MaschineKI ist keine b...

...and the German translation is out in a few weeks: www.harpercollins.de/products/fee...

Our book has been spotted as a featured read on the shelves of the Berlin House of Representatives.

There are no rights ‘in’ cyberspace

Just got the hard copy of my chapter in 'Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology' edited by Ben Wagner, Matthias C. Kettemann, Kilian Vieth-Ditlmann, and Susannah Montgomery.

www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/b...

Pressure and praise as an action research methodology: The case of Fairwork - Mark Graham, Oğuz Alyanak, Alessio Bertolini, Patrick Feuerstein, Tobias Kuttler, Funda Ustek Spilda, Jonas Valente, 2025 In platform-mediated sectors such as ride-hailing, delivery, care work and cloudwork, gig workers often lack essential employment protections such as minimum wa...

New paper out!
“Pressure & Praise as an Action Research Methodology”

Read about how we developed the @towardsfairwork.bsky.social methodology to nudge gig work platforms into making hundreds of changes.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Talked to @tbij.bsky.social about the tech paradox: the only ones who can set standards are the ones least willing to.

That's why @towardsfairwork.bsky.social is launching a new AI supply chain certification to fill the gap.

Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator in Kenya, died last week—denied leave, overworked, unheard.

Her death is a stark reminder: we need real accountability and protections for data workers.

Fairwork stands in solidarity.
#JusticeForLadi #Fairwork #DigitalLabour

Here's a preview of the Korean cover for Feeding the Machine. Out soon with New Wave Media.

English version here: canongate.co.uk/books/5234-f...