We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone for one of our own: Dr. Mathilde Abel has been appointed as an Associate Professor at Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris! This fantastic achievement recognizes Dr. Abel’s cutting-edge work and commitment to understanding the complexities of digital capitalism and platform labor. During her time as a postdoc with DiPLab, Dr. Abel was a crucial member of our team, contributing significantly to the Voices from Online Labour (VOLI) project. Her work on VOLI focused on AI-related platform work in Latin America, offering vital insights into the evolving landscape of digital work in the Global South. Dr. Abel’s research expertise sits at the intersection of several critical fields: * Platform labor * Algorithmic governance * Cognitive asymmetries in digital capitalism Her methodological approach is unique and robust, combining qualitative fieldwork with computational methods and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze worker-generated data. This blend of methods allows her to capture both the granular human experience and the large-scale patterns shaping digital work. CONGRATULATIONS, MATHILDE! Dr. Abel holds a PhD in Economics from Sorbonne Nouvelle University. Her new role as a faculty member at Télécom Paris not only marks an exciting personal career step but also solidifies the continued relationship between her research and the goals of DiPLab. We look forward to many future collaborations!

We’re proud to share that DiPLab research was featured at the 9th Regulating for Decent Work (RDW) Conference, hosted by the International Labour Office in Geneva from 2–4 July 2025. In a joint paper with Nagla Rizk (A2K4D, American University in Cairo), DiPLab’s Myriam Raymond presented research titled Regulating Digital Platform Payments: Barriers to Fair Compensation and Policy Implications for Egyptian Microworkers. > This study draws on extensive survey data (N=948) and focus group discussions > with Egyptian microworkers performing small online tasks on global platforms.  > It sheds light on the lived reality of financial precarity: unpredictable > payments, opaque fees, currency exchange losses, and reliance on informal > intermediaries. Many workers remain excluded from fair financial participation > due to technical, institutional, and regulatory gaps. Our findings emphasize > that these payment frictions are not marginal inconveniences—they are central > to workers’ experience and reinforce their vulnerability in ways largely > invisible to existing labor regulation. The paper calls for targeted financial > inclusion policies, better platform accountability, and a serious rethink of > regulatory frameworks to protect microworkers as legitimate workers deserving > fair pay and institutional support. > > Within the frame of this ongoing study, a closed-door meeting with key > policymakers and public actors will be convened on November 2025. Amongst the > participants: Egyptian Ministry of ManPower, Central Bank of Egypt, Central > Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), ILO Egypt’s office, > National Telecommunications Regulating Agency (NTRA), Financial Regulatory > Authority (FRA), and the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency > (MSMEDA).   This year’s RDW theme focused on Strengthening labour institutions and worker voice to deliver decent employment. It brought together an extraordinary range of grounded research from all over the globe—scholars, policymakers, and practitioners all exchanging ideas on how to make work fairer, safer, and more inclusive. Every session, keynote, and plenary was packed with insights. It was a privilege to be part of such a collective effort where research meets purpose and gives real meaning to what we do.

On 16-17 May 2025, DiPLab’s Paola Tubaro was invited by the French Institute in Argentina to participate in its landmark event “Night of Ideas.” At world-famous Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, she spoke in panels that provocatively questioned the “new voluntary servitude” of platform work and asked whether “in AI we trust?” On 20 May, she gave a talk on “The Future of Work and AI” at the prestigious University of Buenos Aires. She presented some results of her research on digital labor and its role in AI production, developed in the framework of the DiPLab research program. No Caption No Caption No Caption No Caption

We are overjoyed to welcome Amani Parvathaneni and Sebastián Budnevich as the newest members of the DiPLab team! Over the past several months, these exceptional postgraduate students have already made significant contributions to our scientific research initiatives. Amani and Sebastián have excelled in processing complex datasets across multiple projects, while also enhancing the depth and scope of our fieldwork investigations into labor platforms. Their analytical rigor and innovative approaches have proven invaluable to advancing our mission to understand the evolving dynamics of digital labor. We look forward to their continued growth and impact as part of our collaborative research community. Amani is a Master’s student in Economics at SciencesPo, with a keen interest in political economy, the sociology of markets, and how economic systems shape and are shaped by societal structures. At DiPLab, she is excited to pursue these interests by contributing to the VOLI project. I am a Master’s student in Sociology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Chile. Throughout my academic and professional career, my research interests have focused on the sociology of work in general, and more specifically, on topics related to platform labor, collective action and bargaining, and individual labor rights.