Professor of Internet Geography
Mark Graham is an economic geographer. His research focuses on digital labour, the gig economy, and digital inequalities. He is the author, most recently, of Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI
The Fair Digital Economies and Work Group (FDEWG) investigates the systemic inequities embedded in digitally mediated labour and economic systems. Our mission is to map power imbalances and distributive outcomes in digital economies and work, and to develop evidence-based interventions that advance justice, equity, and meaningful change worldwide.
We take a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together expertise from the social sciences, law and ethics to uncover systemic factors driving inequalities and design strategies to address them. Our research draws on both emerging trends and historical patterns of inequality and resistance, offering insights to inform evolving forms of organisation and collective action in the digital age.
Through participatory action research, our work prioritises the lived experience of affected communities. We work closely with workers, civil society organisations, platform companies, policymakers, and trade unions to co-create actionable strategies for fairer digital economies. These include transparency standards for algorithmic management, equitable payment and value distribution models, and governance frameworks that safeguard worker rights, for example.
Policy engagement is central to the FDEWG’s mission. We work with government bodies, regulatory agencies, and international organisations to translate research findings into evidence-based policy recommendations, ranging from labour protections for platform work to ethical AI guidelines and inclusive digital marketplace regulations. By fostering dialogue among scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders, we bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Work is at the heart of all economic systems and is a key driver of inequalities. That’s why it forms the foundation of our research, providing a lens through which to understand and address broader societal inequities. Work is tied to issues of fairness and ethics in global production networks, which influence how resources are distributed, how labour conditions are shaped, and who benefits from economic activity.
By combining empirical research, actionable solutions, and collaborative engagement, we aim to address the root causes of inequality and promote meaningful improvements across communities, industries and institutions.
By James Muldoon, Mark Graham, Callum Cant.
AI is an extraction machine that feeds off humanity's collective effort and intelligence, churning through ever-larger datasets to power its algorithms. This book details what we need to do to fight for a more just digital future.
Read more
Former Postdoctoral Researcher
Oğuz Alyanak is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Fairwork project.
Research Associate
Alessio Bertolini was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute for the project FairWork, where he investigated platform work in the both the Global North and Global South.
Visiting Research Fellow
Han Chu is a postdoctoral researcher in Economic Geography at Kiel University, Germany. Her research sits at the intersection of economic geography, urban and regional studies, and digital platform studies.
Former MSc Student
Alexis is an MSc in Social Data Science student on a Marshall Scholarship, interested in algorithmic bias and fairness. She holds an MSc in Narrative Futures from the University of Edinburgh.
Research Assistant
Ashly is a Research Assistant with a background in AI, data governance, and geopolitics, bringing global experience in research and strategy for ethical technology and digital inclusion.
Research Assistant
Shilpa Mariam Joseph is a Research Assistant at the Fairwork Project. She holds an MSc from LSE and previously worked at the Internet Freedom Foundation on advocacy and fundraising.
DPhil Student
Sanna is a DPhil Student at the OII and also a doctoral student at the Alan Turing Institute, where she leads the Data and Inequality interest group together with her supervisor Mark Graham.
Former MSc Student
Cailean is a DPhil Candidate in Social Data Science, whose research concerns the political economy of open source artificial intelligence.
Research Associate
Sara's research focuses on the ethical development and application of AI. Previously, she studied information ecosystems and social media discourse at McGill University.
DPhil Student
Marie-Therese is a British, Afro-Caribbean and Chinese-Singaporean individual whose DPhil Research lives at the intersections of technology justice, environmental justice and decoloniality.
MSc Student
Terra is interested in policy and legislative approaches to mitigating the impact of technology on democratic processes and human rights, with a focus on artificial intelligence and online platforms.
Associate Professor Digital South Asian Studies
Janaki's research examines the politics of digital exclusion in India. She uses ethnographic and archival research to examine how gender, caste and class have shaped the use of information and information technologies in varied contexts.
Research Associate
Jonas C. L Valente is a Brazilian researcher with a sociology Ph.D., with a thesis about digital platforms. He worked as a professor in Brazilian universities and is the author and editor of books about digital platforms and work.
DPhil Student
Kat Zhou is a DPhil candidate and Clarendon Scholar at the OII. Her research examines the sociology of work and geographies of artificial intelligence.
Former Research Associate
Former Research Associate
Former Postdoctoral Researcher
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow
Visiting Policy Fellow
This project seeks to apply the principles of AI for Fair Work, by using these as a benchmark for empirical on workers’ experiences of the implementation of AI systems in the workplace.
This programme supports research in the sphere of AI & Work.
Drawing on the five OECD principles for responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI, this project proposes developing a set of accountability mechanisms to ensure AI systems foster fairer working conditions.
20 January 2026
New analysis from Oxford and Kentucky researchers shows AI systems reproduce long‑standing global biases
La Repubblica, 06 April 2026
Interview with Professor Mark Graham about the hidden human cost of AI.
The Times, 23 January 2026
New research co-authored by OII highlights limitations of large language models, showing that one-word prompts to ChatGPT tend to produce binary results.
Euronews, 21 January 2026
ChatGPT’s viewpoints are shaped by the predominantly Western, white, male developers and platform owners who built it. A new research led by Professor Mark Graham highlights how biased AI tools can amplify existing inequalities.
