Digital gig workers vs. artificial intelligence – a battle of the wits

Abstract

Purpose – This article investigates in depth Sri Lankan gig workers' varying attitudes towards AI amid a hyper-digital world and its role of reshaping work patterns in developing economies. By exploring platform work transformations, it provides critical insights to guide equitable social policy and labour protections. Design/methodology/approach – This article is a qualitative study which utilises a semi-structured interview series consisting of fourteen platform-based gig workers across diverse professions, employing purposive sampling method to collect data and NVivo to run the analysis. Institutional ethical approval was obtained and ensured participant informed consent, anonymity and voluntary withdrawal rights throughout the interviews. Findings – This study assesses divergent AI attitudes among Sri Lankan gig workers: optimism towards efficiency gains, ambivalence regarding ethical trade-offs and pessimism concerning skill erosion. Segmentation occurs primarily by occupational specialisation, revealing patterning: IT gig workers embracing pragmatic efficiency while creatives defend identity-based skillsets. Given AI's structural impacts, proactive social policies leveraging gig worker insights are suggested to promote multiple sustainable development goals in emerging digital economies. Originality/value – This exploratory study examines AI attitudes through the lenses of Sri Lanka gig workers, suggesting occupational divergence (IT pragmatism versus creative resistance) in the nation's digital gig economy. It offers contextual empirical insights from gig workers lived experiences in the Global South, extending global AI research beyond existing GenAI and algorithmic management studies, which predominantly focus on quantitative analysis or ride-hailing platforms.