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Urban Company’s AI Photo Is Changing How Gig Workers Are Seen & Paid

June 21, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Urban Company began using AI to alter service partners' profile photos for a more “professional” look, but gig workers say the edits came without real choice—and with real losses. Read on!

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It’s a world full of AI-generated visuals and deepfakes and we’re just living in it. 

Earlier, old photos or video, clipped or cropped videos, doctored visuals were used to spread false information on the internet. But now, everything is going the AI way!

For instance, these two visuals of destruction of buildings were shared as real footage of the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, being struck by Iranian missiles. 

However, BOOM found these are fake visuals and created using artificial intelligence. It’s not so difficult to find out. If you see the viral image carefully, the name Mossad, is misspelled as "Mosad".

Next, we analysed the image using detection tool Was It AI, which indicated that "the image, or a significant portion of it," was AI-generated. We performed similar checks for the video too.

Another set of videos showing people apologising and asking for forgiveness from Iran were circulated as real on social media. BOOM found that all three videos are AI-generated. 

We analysed these videos on online available free tools like Hive Moderation and Was It AI that confirmed the presence of AI in them.

DECODE

Urban Company’s AI Photo Is Changing How Gig Workers Are Seen And Paid

AI-fication of profile photos: Urban Company quietly rolled out AI-generated profile photos for its gig workers, claiming it would make them look more “professional” and boost client trust. 

Consent taken?: Through a notification on the app, Urban Company told its service partners that the updated images could improve booking rates. They were given an option to opt out. But if they didn’t actively respond, the platform treated it as implied consent. 

Rani (name changed), a Delhi-based beautician and service partner with Urban Company, like many others, missed the alert. It had appeared in the final week of May, under the bell icon on the Urban Company Partner app—an area she rarely checks. Push notifications are only visible if manually enabled. Once new alerts arrive, older ones get buried. 

Meanwhile, some workers say they did respond—but their input was disregarded. 

A review by Decode’s Hera Rizwan of several updated partner profiles showed that the AI-generated images often looked noticeably different from the actual appearance of the workers. 

Experts warn: Speaking to Decode, legal experts said that the use of AI-generated images—especially without clear, explicit consent—raises serious red flags. 

LAW, JUSTICE ET AL

Air India Crash: Why ₹1 Crore Payout To Victims May Not Be Enough

Days after the devastating Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which killed at least 274 people, challenges loom over compensation distribution and victim identification. 

While Tata Sons and Air India have announced interim payouts—₹1 crore and ₹25 lakh per victim, respectively—questions remain over the adequacy of these amounts, delays in DNA-based identification, and the varying claims from families of passengers versus ground victims.

However, this is not the final compensation the families of the victims will get. According to the law, since Air India was an international flight, compensation to victims of the crash will be covered under the Montreal Convention, 1999. This excludes any travel insurance, personal insurance, and other benefits the victims are owed. Though, if negligence is proved, families of those who died, or the injured will be entitled to a higher amount.

What is the cost of a life?: Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said in accident cases when an adult loses their life, there is a cost to their value. CJI Chandrachud was part of the five-judge Constitution Bench in the Pranay Sethi—a landmark case—which laid guidelines on the computation of how compensation will be calculated. 

Ex-CJI Chandrachud however believes that this case will be a test for the principles laid down in MC99.

“The Montreal Convention only covers claims by passengers who were on board. But in this case, there is no reason why you can't stretch it to cover those who died on the ground.”

Ex-CJI DY Chandrachud to BOOM’s Ritika Jain
EXPLAINED

Chilling Facts: What Science Says About India’s Proposed AC Temperature Limits

  • India will pilot a plan to cap AC temperatures between 20°C and 28°C to reduce power consumption. 

  • New ACs will be hardcoded to operate only within this range, removing manual override options. 

  • Experts say temperature caps alone won’t make a big difference without better building design. 

  • Some call the 20°C–28°C range arbitrary and not backed by strong scientific evidence.

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍 An unrelated video of a courtroom scuffle in Tbilisi, Georgia, was shared on social media with the false claim that it shows Israeli citizens assaulting the Israeli Defence Minister. 🔗 Anmol Alphonso ↗️ debunked the claim.

🔍 Does this video of a fire show the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel? Find out in 🔗 Srijanee Chakraborty’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 A video showing a large cache of weapons and bundles of cash lying on the ground resurfaced with a false claim that it shows weapons recovered from a mosque in the northeastern state of Manipur. Read 🔗 Srijit Das’ ↗️ fact-check.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: This teen’s simple Reddit question sparked a movement to fight misinformation

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