Presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) in Toronto, Canada, 2023.
The untampered development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly amplified deep-rooted social, economic and political problems. Many scholars have contributed to understanding the assumptions inscribed in AI and the consequence of the indiscriminate use of such technologies. However, most of these studies look at the work done by well-paid developers in large companies. Little is known about places where AI systems are iteratively prototyped, tested, and refined, tasks often run by low-wage workers. This paper focuses on Kaggle, a place of competition and experimentation where new ideas for AI are born. Using Discourse Analysis and Digital Archeology, this study examines Kaggle’s history to show how the company evolved as a gamified platform where competitive programmers participate in Machine Learning challenges in exchange for virtual medals. The paper proposes that Kaggle’s business logic pushes toward the unlimited exploitation of human cognitive abilities as a computational resource.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become the hallmark of the tech industry in the second decade of the Twenty-First century. The unregulated and untampered development of these technologies has rapidly affected many aspects of our social lives, significantly impacting the relations of power and amplifying deep-rooted social and political problems. Many scholars have contributed to understanding the assumptions inscribed in predictive models and AI systems, the methods used to build these systems, and the consequence of the indiscriminate use of such technologies. However, most of these studies look at the work done by large teams of well-paid developers. Little is known about places where AI systems are iteratively prototyped, tested, and refined, tasks often run by volunteers and low-wage workers. This paper focuses on Kaggle, the world’s largest data science community. Situated between academia and the market, Kaggle is a place of competition and experimentation where new ideas for machine learning and AI are born. Using Discourse Analysis and Digital Archeology (Rogers, 2017), this study examines the first ten years of Kaggle’s history, showing how the company has evolved as a gamified platform that lures a crowd of competitive programmers to participate in machine learning challenges in exchange for virtual medals and honorific titles, such as “expert” and “grandmaster.” The paper proposes that Kaggle’s business logic pushes toward unlimited exploitation of the human body and cognitive abilities as a computation resource, wherein our brains would be remotely programmed to solve problems in exchange for little extra cash.