Gig workers are using AI to fight deactivations on apps like Uber and Instacart

Some gig workers are using AI to craft evidence summaries and arguments as they fight companies' decisions to deactivate their accounts. Bloomberg/Getty Images Companies like Uber and Instacart often deactivate gig workers' accounts with little notice. Some workers are turning to AI to access their accounts again. Ride-hailing and delivery workers are asking chatbots to write letters and request arbitration. Gig workers fighting their deactivations on apps like Uber and Instacart say they have a new advocate: AI. The companies often kick ride-hailing and delivery workers off of their apps — sometimes for legitimate safety or fraud reasons, other times without fully explaining why. Workers who want to get back on the apps or reach some other settlement must contact the company and initiate an arbitration process. The procedure can be long and require parsing the contracts that bind the workers. Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said AI is still beneficial to gig workers who have few other options. "They're not locked out of being able to defend themselves because they lack the financial means to hire a very good labor attorney," he said.