Data Theatre
By Siddharth Peter de Souza The module names and describes the phenomenon of a 'data theatre' which has three elements, an aspect of a data injustice, a data silence, and a data violence. Through the use of a case study of ratings in platform work, De Souza describes how often while data is touted to be objective and neutral to give us a clear, and fair understanding of a phenomenon, we instead only see a performance of these attributes. The module offers some insights into how to recognize this phenomenon, as well as how to challenge its emergence.
Read, Watch, and Listen
- Amazon’s ‘Delivery Premier League’ Gamifies Gig Work in India, Christopher, Nilesh. "Amazon’s ‘Delivery Premier League’ Gamifies Gig Work in India." Rest of World Blog. October 25, 2021.
- The Performativity of Ratings in Platform Work, de Souza, Siddharth Peter. “The Performativity of Ratings in Platform Work.” Centre for International Governance Innovation Blog. June 20, 2022.
- Data Silences— Invisibilising Migrant Distress in Times of COVID-19, de Souza, Siddharth Peter. “Data Silences— Invisibilising Migrant Distress in Times of COVID-19.” Data and Pandemic Politics 6. https://doi.org/10.26116/datajustice-covid-19.006
- 'Providing Support to Both Parties, Delivery Executive Had Highest Rating’: Zomato on Alleged Attack in Bengaluru, “'Providing Support to Both Parties, Delivery Executive Had Highest Rating’: Zomato on Alleged Attack in Bengaluru." The Indian Express. Indian Express Group, March 12, 2021. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/providing-support-to-both-parties-zomato-on-alleged-attack-in-bengaluru-7224987/.
- Data justice for development: What would it mean?, Heeks, R., & Renken, J.. "Data justice for development: What would it mean?" Information Development, vol. 34, no. 1, 2016, pp.90-102.
- Data Violence and How Bad Engineering Choices Can Damage Society, Hoffman, Anna Lauren. "Data Violence and How Bad Engineering Choices Can Damage Society." Medium Blog. April 30, 2018.
- In the Gig Economy, Customers are Complicit in Labor Exploitation, Naraharisetty, Rohitha. "In the Gig Economy, Customers are Complicit in Labor Exploitation." The Swaddle Blog. August 20, 2021.
- 5.0: What it's like to be a last-mile delivery driver in Indonesia, Renaldi, Adi. "5.0: What it's like to be a last-mile delivery driver in Indonesia." Rest of World Blog. September 21, 2021.
- What is data justice? The case for connecting digital rights and freedoms globally, Taylor, L. "What is data justice? The case for connecting digital rights and freedoms globally." Big Data & Society, vol. 4, no. 2, 2017, pp.1-14.