  Microwork platforms allocate fragmented tasks to crowds of providers with
remunerations as low as few cents. Instrumental to the development of today's
artificial intelligence, these micro-tasks push to the extreme the logic of
casualization already observed in "uberized" workers. The present article uses
the results of the DiPLab study to estimate the number of people who microwork
in France. We distinguish three categories of microworkers, corresponding to
different modes of engagement: a group of 14,903 "very active" microworkers,
most of whom are present on these platforms at least once a week; a second
featuring 52,337 "routine" microworkers, more selective and present at least
once a month; a third circle of 266,126 "casual" microworkers, more
heterogeneous and who alternate inactivity and various levels of work practice.
Our results show that microwork is comparable to, and even larger than, the
workforce of ride-sharing and delivery platforms in France. It is therefore not
an anecdotal phenomenon and deserves great attention from researchers, unions
and policy-makers.
