Even as Uber talks up its determination to treat drivers more humanely, it is engaged in an extraordinary behind-the-scenes experiment in behavioral science to manipulate them in the service of its corporate growth…Uber’s innovations reflect the changing ways companies are managing workers amid the rise of the freelance-based “gig economy.” Uber [uses] psychological inducements and other techniques unearthed by social science to influence when, where and how long drivers work…Uber has experimented with video game techniques, graphics and noncash rewards of little value that can prod drivers into working longer and harder — and sometimes at hours and locations that are less lucrative for them…

As long as Uber continues to set growth and passenger volume as critical goals, it will have an incentive to make wringing more hours out of drivers a higher priority …It is, as a result, not too hard to imagine a future in which massive digital platforms like Uber have an appetite for tens of millions of workers…In such an economy, experts say, using big data and algorithms to manage workers will not simply be a niche phenomenon. It may become one of the most common ways of managing the American labor force.