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May 05, 2026

AI, Gig Work, and the Future of Nursing

How scheduling algorithms, productivity tools, and a fast-growing app-based contingent workforce are turning bedside care into something closer to gig work.

By Chris Mills Rodrigo

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In this episode, Tech Policy Press fellow Chris Mills Rodrigo speaks with Katie Wells, a senior fellow at the AI Now Institute and the author of two reports on the ‘gig-ification’ of nursing, to dig into how AI is reshaping the profession from the inside out.

Rodrigo and Wells examine what’s actually being deployed in hospitals: scheduling algorithms, productivity tools, and a fast-growing app-based contingent workforce that is turning bedside care into something closer to gig work. Wells reports that these trends prefigure the broader adoption of AI in healthcare, raising questions not only about the stability of the profession and the quality of patient care, but also about how the degradation of healthcare work affects communities.

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Listen to the podcast on Tech Policy Press.

For press inquiries, contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org. For recent press statements, visit our Press page.

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