Digital Labour, Production Relations, and Social Class in the Age of Automation

Abstract

This literature-based study examines how digital labour and automation reorganize social structure through changing production relations, shifting class identities, and emerging patterns of stratification. Drawing on thematic synthesis of theoretical and empirical works, the article shows that ownership and control of data, algorithms, and digital infrastructure have become central axes of power in contemporary labour regimes. Production processes are fragmented into small tasks allocated through platforms, while surveillance operates through continuous data tracking, ratings, and performance scores. Workers experience a tension between narratives of independence and concrete dependence on opaque technical rules that govern access to income. New social layers crystallise around differentiated access to education, digital skills, infrastructure, gendered divisions of labour, age, ethnicity, and citizenship. The study argues that digital labour does not dissolve hierarchy; it rearranges it around proximity to technological decision making and capacity to shape platform rules. The article concludes by highlighting the need for renewed class theory, regulatory frameworks addressing algorithmic governance, and inclusive digital skill formation to reduce emerging inequalities in digitally mediated work.