Desperation Is Now a Data Point

Economic desperation has always weakened bargaining power. If you urgently need the next paycheck, you cannot negotiate like somebody who can comfortably walk away. What is new is the possibility of turning that vulnerability into data. Financial distress, previous willingness to accept low offers, long periods without work, dependence on a platform or other signals can help a system estimate how badly somebody needs the next shift.

That is an ugly shift. Poverty is no longer merely the condition under which exploitation becomes easier. It can become an input into the optimization itself. The stronger party does not simply benefit from the fact that you are desperate. It can potentially measure the desperation and price it in. A system that learns you cannot afford to say no has learned something enormously valuable about you, just not something that should make your wage go down.