Encountering algorithms in the urban space:
Encountering algorithms in the urban space:

A matter of knowledge. An enactive ethnography of riders’ work

Summary/Abstract: In the academic debate, an increasing number of studies has addressed the disciplining function of the algorithmic management upon food-delivery workers. The technologi- cal infrastructure has been understood as a tool in the hands of the management, against which workers can only resist or succumb insofar as they comply (or not) with algorith- mic prescriptions. Less attention has been given to what the interaction with algorithms is made of. By adopting riders’ point of view, this article explores the meanings and compe- tences attached to such interaction, which shapes workers’ spatial and temporal experience. Framing the everyday encounters with algorithms as a “site of knowing” (Nicolini 2011), the paper shows the emergence of a professional vision (Goodwin, 1994) within (a part of) riders’ community. The research draws on six-months Milan-based observant participation during which the author worked as a part-time rider, integrated with 21 in-depth inter- views with workers and a small survey (n=130).

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