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“Whereas the mega-machine operated by violent means — forcibly divorcing the human-cogs of identity and absorbing their productive and creative energies through wage or slave labor — the mega-algorithm doubles back and promises you reunification with this alienated self through ‘authentic’ (or ‘creative’ or ‘social’) work completed on your own time. We are sold a desirable narrative about the wealth of networks, decentralized production, cognitive surplus, collaborative consumption, social engagement, and instant convenience. The techno-utopic discourses of emancipation and community that surround the technologies and sociopolitics that make up the mega-algorithm serve as an effective ideological veil, which shrouds the practices of exploitation and control. Don’t think of yourself as an overworked, underpaid laborer trying to hustle for a paycheck. No, you’re actually an entrepreneurial individual, building your personal brand and finding (or making) your niche in the marketplace.”