Your Order Is On Its Way
Your Order Is On Its Way explores the intersections between algorithms and labour through the work of food delivery bike drivers, the people who hire them, and the algorithms they work for. We live in an increasingly online world, one where labour and digital systems are only becoming more intertwined, especially with the rise of AI automation. Drivers who work for apps such as Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart often do so in a chain of command where they respond not to a human supervisor, but to an app. An app that runs on an algorithm which tells them where to go, how long they can work, and how much they are paid. With contactless delivery introduced during the pandemic, the divide between the people who do this labour, the people who profit from it, and the people who use and rely on it has only grown. Your Order Is On Its Way attempts to explore this rift, asking us to consider the cognitive dissonance between the services provided by apps of convenience and the real people who provide them. It reminds us of the real labour behind each touch of a button and the exploitation that exists in systems that thrive by becoming less human.