What can workers do if they're fired by AI?

Increasing use of algorithmic tools to make high-stakes decisions from recruitment to performance management raises questions about accountability.

- Sarah O'Connor

One day last month, a man with a neatly trimmed white beard stood on the pavement outside Uber's head office in London. He clutched a clear plastic folder which contained a pile of letters, printed out e-mails and a carefully annotated, hand-drawn map.

Mr Ghulam Qadir was "deactivated" by Uber in 2018 after what he said was a mix-up over a passenger who paid him in cash when the app cancelled her trip. He tried to explain what happened to Uber (hence the map), but said he could not get anyone to listen.

He even got his MP involved. Resorting to your MP, it seems, has become the Uber driver's version of pressing the zero button repeatedly on a customer service call when you just want to speak to a human. Mr Qadir thought that was crazy, saying: "Parliament should be for world issues, but not my issues."

He was at Uber's office to hand in a 10,000-strong petition from drivers and their supporters, facilitated by worker rights platform Organise, to protest against what they called "automated firings" and "unfair deactivations".

Uber, for its part, told me its policies had improved a lot over the past 12 to 18 months, and that all drivers could now ask to have their case reviewed by a panel of experts. "We continually work to help make sure our approach is transparent and fair," a spokesman said.