Food delivery riders call on platforms to open up AI ‘black box’ they say has cut pay
Sunday, 6 September 2026
Warm-up
- How often do you use food delivery apps? Why?
- What factors should decide a rider’s pay?
- What do you think an algorithm does at work?
Vocabulary
- algorithm
- A set of rules a computer follows to make a decision or prediction.
- automation
- The use of machines and software to do tasks without much human control.
- dynamic
- Changing based on conditions; in pricing, it moves up or down in real time.
- allocate
- To give or assign something, such as jobs or resources, to people.
- class action
- A legal case brought by many people with the same complaint.
- breach
- To break a law, rule or agreement.
- funding
- Money provided for a project or organisation.
- concealed
- Hidden or not made public.
Reading
Food delivery riders in Edinburgh say their pay has fallen as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat increase automation. They want platforms to open the AI “black box” so riders can see how the algorithm allocates orders and sets rates. Some riders report earning about half of what they made several years ago and say conditions have worsened.
The group works with the Workers’ Observatory, created by gig economy workers with academics at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. The observatory has funding for the next decade and tests how dynamic pricing affects earnings. Trades unions want the practice banned because it leaves income uncertain.
Research linked Uber’s 2023 pricing algorithm to lower hourly pay for drivers. This week, drivers from the UK, the Netherlands and other countries launched a class action in Amsterdam, alleging the system breaches data rules and pushes pay down. Uber denies adjusting prices for an individual driver and points to features such as GPS. Riders say they wish platforms would explain the system clearly instead of keeping key data concealed.
Comprehension
- Where are the riders who say their pay has fallen?
- Which three platforms are named in the report?
- What does the Workers’ Observatory study?
- What effect did research link to Uber’s 2023 pricing algorithm?
- What does Uber deny about its pricing system?
Grammar focus
Wish / if only
Use wish/if only to say you want things to be different. For the present, use wish + past simple; for a change you want someone else to make, wish + would + verb also works; for regrets about the past, use wish + had + past participle. (Example 2 constructed.)
- Riders say they wish platforms would explain the system clearly.
- Many riders wish they had seen past rates earlier.
Practise this grammar: Wish and if only (B2)
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- Riders wish companies (open) ___ the AI data now.
- If only the platforms (be) ___ more open before pay fell.
- Riders wish they (know) ___ how the algorithm sets pay.
- Drivers wish the pay system (not/change) ___ in 2023.
- Unions wish regulators (ban) ___ dynamic pricing now.
Discussion
- Should platforms reveal more about how their algorithms work?
- Is dynamic pricing fair for workers in the gig economy?
- What data would you want to judge pay fairness?
- How could riders and platforms improve trust?
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