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

I n 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. But a year later, after customers complained about the degraded quality of customer service, Klarna began to quietly recruit human customer service agents back. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more . 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. Consider this a glimpse into one of the ways artificial intelligence is poised to transform work. While labor economists remain divided on how much AI will replace jobs, they are more or less aligned on the idea that AI will replace some parts of most jobs. …