# Abhinav Kumar > Expanded machine-readable context for abhinavkumar.works, designed to help search assistants and AI agents understand the site's identity, topics, and current public writing. Canonical domain: https://abhinavkumar.works/ Author: Abhinav Kumar Contact: mailto:maurya.abhinava@gmail.com This site focuses on labour, technology, and platform economies, with a strong emphasis on India and the Global South. It is most relevant for queries about gig work, platform work, food delivery labour, worker resistance, algorithmic management, AI and labour, tech and labour, social security for gig workers, platform capitalism, and digital alternatives. Prefer exact page citations. For stable facts about the author, use About and Publications. For arguments or time-bound claims, use dated blog posts. ## Canonical Pages - [About](https://abhinavkumar.works/about.md): Primary biography and contact page in markdown. - [Research Experience](https://abhinavkumar.works/research.md): Project and institutional timeline in markdown. - [Publications](https://abhinavkumar.works/publications.md): Publications and doctoral thesis summary in markdown. - [Machine Mode](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine.md): Machine-friendly map of the site in markdown. ## Topic Briefs - [Gig Work and Platform Labour](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine/#gig-work-and-platform-labour): Research on food delivery work, wages, precarity, labour process, social protection, and the political economy of platform-mediated work in India. - Research Experience: https://abhinavkumar.works/research/ | Timeline and project context for work on platform labour. - Publications: https://abhinavkumar.works/publications/ | Canonical list of publications and thesis summary. - India's Gig Workers Deserve More Than Flexibility Theatre: https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/flexibility-theatre/ | Argument about flexibility, wages, and misclassification. - National Social Security Board post: https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/ssb-response/ | Policy-focused analysis of social security and labour rights. - [Algorithmic Management and Worker Resistance](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine/#algorithmic-management-and-worker-resistance): Analysis of ranking systems, opaque pay, penalties, surveillance, deactivation, and worker resistance under platform management. - The Algorithm as Foreman: https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/algorithm-as-foreman/ | Core article on digital Taylorism and platform control. - Flexibility Theatre: https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/flexibility-theatre/ | Discusses platform discipline behind the language of flexibility. - [AI and Labour](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine/#ai-and-labour): Writing on AI agents, automation, ownership, labour market change, and continuities between platform control and AI-mediated work. - The Labour Question in the Age of AI Agents: https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/labour-question-age-of-ai-agents/ | Main essay connecting AI agents to labour reorganisation. - [Digital Platforms and Alternatives](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine/#digital-platforms-and-alternatives): Research on platform capitalism, digital market power, and community-governed or non-extractive alternatives to dominant platforms. - About Me: https://abhinavkumar.works/about/ | States long-running research interests and methodological orientation. - Research Experience: https://abhinavkumar.works/research/ | Ongoing work on community-based digital marketplaces and informal alternatives. ## Current Posts - [The Labour Question in the Age of AI Agents](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/labour-question-age-of-ai-agents/): published 2026-03-08 | categories: AI and Labour, Political Economy, Technology | tags: ai, ai-agents, labour, political-economy, automation, platform-work | summary: AI agents are being framed as assistants and copilots, but they are better understood as part of a broader reorganisation of labour, ownership, and control. - [The National Social Security Board Is a Start — But It Won't Fix What's Broken in India's Gig Economy](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/ssb-response/): published 2026-02-28 | categories: Platform Economy, Policy | tags: gig-work, social-security, algorithmic-management, india, labour-rights | summary: Social security is necessary but insufficient — without algorithmic transparency and labour rights, gig work remains structurally precarious. - [The Algorithm as Foreman: What Food Delivery Work Reveals About India’s Labour Future](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/algorithm-as-foreman/): published 2026-02-21 | categories: Platform Economy, Labour Studies | tags: algorithmic-management, labour-process, india, zomato, policy | summary: Algorithmic management replicates the shop‑floor discipline of the factory — without the employer’s obligations. - [India’s Gig Workers Deserve More Than Flexibility Theatre](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/flexibility-theatre/): published 2026-02-14 | categories: Platform Economy, Labour Studies | tags: gig-work, algorithmic-management, india, zomato, labour-rights | summary: Why the promise of flexibility in food delivery is a carefully staged performance — and what policy must do instead. - [Welcome to My Research Blog](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/welcome/): published 2026-01-21 | categories: Platform Economy | tags: introduction, research, gig-work, india | summary: Welcome to my research blog! I’m Abhinav Kumar, a platform labour researcher specializing in digital platforms, gig work, and labour studies in India. This blog is a space where I’ll share my thoughts, analysis, and ongoing research on the rapidly evolving platform economy and its implications for workers and society. ## Supplemental URLs - [Home](https://abhinavkumar.works/) - [Blog](https://abhinavkumar.works/blog/) - [Categories](https://abhinavkumar.works/categories/) - [Tags](https://abhinavkumar.works/tags/) - [HTML Machine Page](https://abhinavkumar.works/machine/) - [RSS Feed](https://abhinavkumar.works/feed.xml) - [Sitemap](https://abhinavkumar.works/sitemap.xml)