Les transformations du travail dans l’économie numérique

The digital economy arouses all manner of disparate speculations. Some foresee the end of work, with human labor replaced by robots and artificial intelligence; others proclaim that the days of serving an employer will soon pass into history, as we all become freelance workers in an Uberized economy. Stepping away from overblown fantasy, this article traces the real ways in which the world of work has already changed with the advent of the digital economy. It demonstrates how digitalization has transformed our experience of work, simultaneously enhancing autonomy and creating new constraints and technological regimentation. It reviews the current evidence for the impact of these new ways of working on employment and income levels. In particular, it shows how society is being reshaped in ways that pose a threat to middle-class incomes and invites us to reflect on the societal implications of this new world of work.