Digital labor

Digital labor or digital labour refers to forms of labor mediated by digital technologies, typically performed through or enabled by internet platforms, software systems, and data infrastructures. It includes a wide range of activities such as data annotation, content moderation, clickwork, platform-mediated gig work, and user-generated content. While some forms of digital labor are formally compensated, many are informal, underpaid, or entirely unpaid, often blurring the boundaries between work and leisure.

Digital labor plays a foundational role in the digital economy by supplying the human input needed to train artificial intelligence (AI), maintain online platforms, and generate monetizable content and data. Scholars from media studies, sociology, information science, and political economy have examined the ways in which digital infrastructures reshape labor, value creation, and power dynamics. The term raises questions about labor rights, algorithmic control, surveillance, and the commodification of human activity in a data-driven world.