Exploring Synergy between AI and Blockchain for the Rising Gig economy

Freelancing is probably one of the main pillars of the modern economy. It would be difficult to get our job or task done if it’s not for on-demand services platforms and freelancers. This helps us to manage time and resources efficiently and achieve goals that seem plausible before.

But everything isn’t going inflow in the freelancing industry. Whether we see it from freelancers’ perspective or the other way around. Freelancer faces job insecurity and poor rewards.

According to a report from Deloitte, those who prefer freelancing over a proper job earn less than their counterparts. Uber in 2014, claimed that cab drivers in NYC earn a handsome amount of $91,000 annually. But according to a recent survey from Ridester found that an average Uber driver earns more or less $14 per hour including the tips received.

Yet with all these difficulties, the gig economy is growing at a rapid pace.

On the other hand, clients face difficulties in finding skilled professionals for their tasks. Often the freelancers they hire couldn’t produce satisfying results or lack skills and professional knowledge.

Both the freelancers and clients have had several issues with the quality of user experience during their journey on different freelancing platforms, it seems more obvious that a change or technological disruption is needed to address these issues. 

Issues with freelancing platforms

While one solution is simply not to use freelancing platforms, this solves certain problems but creates new ones altogether. Here are some major problems that freelancers and clients face today.

Too many spams and fake job posts

On major freelancing platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, clients are allowed to post jobs without paying anything. While freelancers working on these platforms have to go under some scrutiny to reduce the number of spam and fake posts.

There are possibilities that the project listed is legit but the threat of spam remains unchanged and results in the wasted time for freelancers. Clients on the other side of the aisle feel that most of the freelancers didn’t get the job done at the time. So fake and spammy jobs create difficulties for both clients and freelancers. 

Contract dispute resolution support isn’t available

While there is a common misconception, on both sides, that freelancing platform provides a contract dispute resolution. The clients assume that their money is secure with the freelance platform and freelancers are always threatened that if the client rejects their work their rating will be down despite delivering quality work. 

Oftentimes, freelancers either don’t receive any of the funds from escrow or only receive a portion. Meanwhile, the clients are always in tension, if they are handling their work to the right person who will deliver it according to their expectations. Adding to these difficulties, freelancers have to pass different tests to achieve a higher level and ratings.     

What problems do AI and Blockchain solve in freelancing?

While these problems exist with almost every freelancing website, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology, which has been enhancing the working capabilities of different industries through innovations and efficient solutions. Industries like finance, agriculture, marketing all have been benefited from these technologies.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing the way we bank and blockchain is adding safety to the financial sector.

Countries are even looking to use blockchain technology for secure and democratized voting.

Similarly, these two technologies can assist skilled professionals and businessmen to connect with each other without any threat. 

Even though freelancing platforms are a good way to find remote work and hire talent but still the presence of a middleman remains. Blockchain’s decentralized system and unhackable security make it perfect technology for the freelancing marketplace. Businesses could hire talent directly without any extra third party charges. 

Freelancers will have the opportunity to build a profile that is saved and is available with them every time. This way both clients and freelance can easily connect to each other and make the deal without having any difficulties and trust issues. 

Blockchain technology brought about a revolution that will no doubt be felt up until the next century and beyond. Due to the level 6 encryption of blockchain technology, it remains one of the safest and most anonymous means of storage. Intelligent Hero is one such startup with smart contracts that adds more security to both clients and skilled professionals prospects.

Similarly, Netcoin Capital a blockchain-based platform that has
a decentralized global operating system with infinite processing power, Netcoincapital is trying to take a step in designing and building a new generation of processors. The processors that the company is studying, will turn each of the home devices into a supercomputer.

AI engineers are innovating their own solutions for the betterment of the freelance marketplaces. The technology helps freelancers in better project management and finding the right job matching their skills. Smart AI algorithms allow freelancers to better target their pitches and secure jobs.

While freelancing itself helped AI and blockchain startups and ideas to grow, these technologies hold the potential to return the favor by solving the problems that freelancers and clients have to go through. It can also make it easy for every skilled person to freelance by adding transparency.