The world is changing rapidly. Every second, there is an innovation or invention. Many have divided this world into two parts: the Digital World and the Real World. Despite their distinctive definitions and attributes, there are still some aspects that remain similar in both. One of them is ‘Labour Identity’.
Labour identity is how individuals perceive and categorise themselves and value their work, and how others perceive an individual’s work and role in society. Labour identity is constructed not just from the ‘work you do’, but as an interplay between individual self-identity and the broader social and economic structures that define work.
Without reform, digital work will become a new bonded system, scalable and global.
For many years, this has been a crucial problem for bonded labourers. Debt bondage and bonded labour are frequently used interchangeably. According to the ILO (1956), “debt bondage is the status or condition resulting from a debtor’s pledge of his services or those of a person under his control as security for a debt.” Approximately 2.3 million individuals in Pakistan are confined. The advocacy group Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) in Lahore estimates this figure to be substantially greater. According to a 2004 Federal Bureau of Statistics survey of brick kilns in Punjab, nearly 90% of brick kiln workers were bound. Despite such large numbers, to this day they remain victims of inequality-whether economic or social-which leads to a lack of identity, autonomy, and mobility. Labour is defined by caste, class, and lineage, and the systematic exploitation is tied to state failure and elite capture. These feudal lords (malkaan) ensure that the existing system does not change. They refuse to accept any sort of recognition or fair treatment of their workers.
However, this is a new age, a new generation, an era of the ‘Digital World’, and its bonded labourers are digital as well. ‘Digital Labour’, or ‘Cloud Labour’, refers to all forms of human work that are done through digital platforms, often behind the scenes of AI systems. For example, data labelling for machine learning, gig work, content moderation, and freelancing microtasks on sites like Fiverr or Appen. These ‘ghost workers’ are invisible to end users. They have no stable income or recognition. Furthermore, they are normally paid below the minimum wage. Their labour fuels AI but is treated as disposable. These workers, mostly from the Global South, especially Pakistan and India, perform micro-tasks with no protection.
However, the problem of labour identity stays consistent in both the Real World and the Digital World. The parallels between feudal and digital labour systems are not widely exposed. Yet, if observed closely, control was then in the hands of landlords and is now in the hands of algorithms and platforms. Workers remain invisible, hidden behind systems. They are economically dependent, which forces them to accept low pay out of desperation. Finally, they have no voice. There are no unions, no representation, and no bargaining power to raise awareness for these workers and their identity.
This problem of labour identity will cause many other issues to emerge and deteriorate the market further for these workers. To mitigate this issue, government intervention is mandatory. The government needs to introduce certain measures to address this social issue before it turns into a larger economic crisis. A council should be established under a relevant ministry to regulate and monitor cloud labour and introduce policy. Firstly, recognising cloud labour as formal labour will help reconstruct the lost self-worth and identity of the workers. By enforcing fair wages and working hours, workers will gain economic and social relief. The council should also formulate a digital labour rights charter for advocacy. Additionally, it should regulate platforms to ensure improved transparency in how tasks are assigned and how wages are set. Moreover, data protection and ethical task filtering (e.g., no toxic content moderation without support) should be a priority for this council to reassure cloud labourers that they are regaining their identity. This move-from “invisible tool” to “recognised contributor”- will help solve this issue further. By granting digital workers verified identities and legal recourse, society can begin to value the labour behind the machine. Without reform, digital work will become a new bonded system, scalable and global.
With smart intervention, AI and governance can rebuild labour identity with dignity, fairness, and empowerment. We need to rethink what it means to work, to matter, and to be visible in the age of AI. Social identity is the root of many economic and political problems in a nation and should be addressed immediately. In this new age, where old problems persist and new ones emerge, the key lies in bold, viable solutions, ones that don’t just react, but anticipate. If we act now, we can solve tomorrow’s crises before they ever begin.
To do this, we must rethink the very foundations of work, worth, and visibility in a world driven by algorithms. The question is no longer just about wages; it’s about who gets to be seen, heard, and valued.
If we fail to act, digital labour will become a new form of bonded labour, silent, global, and scalable. But if we choose wisely, we can build an economy where all labour is recognised, and all workers are empowered.
The future of work isn’t just about technology, it’s about humanity. And now is the time to decide: Do we automate inequality, or do we code dignity into the system?
The writer is a freelance columnist.