The Mechanical Turk was originally a machine created by Wolfgang von Kempelen in the late 1700s. Kempelen claimed that his invention automated the process of playing chess; his tour with the machine beat such players as Benjamin Franklin. However, it was eventually discovered that the machine was a hoax: a person had been inside the large box the whole time playing the game. This was the idea behind Amazon’s Mechanical Turk “digital sweatshop”. The premise is that the human brain will always be able to complete some tasks better than computers, even if the tasks are menial. Thus, all work is done through the website, but there are in fact human laborers “inside” the machine, out of view.

Where are these workers exactly? Well, theoretically the work can be done all around the world by anyone. The tasks range from menial to highly specialized (in digital sweatshops outside Mechanical Turk), giving nearly everyone an opportunity to do some work on the side or attempt to make an income. “Just about anyone possessing basic literacy can find something to do on Mechanical Turk” according to Jeff Howe in Wired. There is one requirement for participating in programs like Mechancial Turk: a computer with internet access. In reality, only 16% of the world has this. Thus, the demographics are automatically limited. However, the question is really of where workers go when they do the work.  Since work is often done via the internet, a disembodiment of the worker and employer generally occurs. However, the so-called end user and the provider of the service may occasionally meet. There are three websites that demonstrates these ideas: Mechanical Turk, OnForce, and Elance. With Mechanical Turk, the work is done in an entirely virtual manner, allowing the worker to be anywhere from their home to a public library to a coffee shop. OnForce involves a different kind of digital sweatshop. This site connects companies to technicians throughout the US and Canada. The worker is hired via the website for one particular job, which they go do for the “end user” on location. This work could be installation or repair of the primary company’s product.  No actual meeting occurs, and such contact is in fact prohibited by OnForce to prevent bypassing the site. The final website, Elance, is a combination of both previous work areas. Elance involves the listing of more specialized work in a broad range of areas. This work is always temporary. It can involve simple computer work, or it may involve the provider actually going to the workplace. In this case, the site acts more as a job site.

Digital sweatshop work is entirely virtual. Its true world is that of the internet, so it can be easy to forget the worker behind the mask. However, they exist and their physical locations vary. For internet-based work, the one performing the service may be anywhere they can have a computer and connection. In other cases, on-site work is connected to the worker based on proximity to their residence, but the place they go to do the work is not verified by either the company or the website provider. With this disembodiment comes the risk of all sorts of working conditions, varying from positive to negative.