Gamification has the power to fight diseases — and exploit workers

At an Amazon fulfillment warehouse tucked away in small-town America, an employee whiles away the slow-ticking hours of his daily grind by building castles. His materials aren’t exactly contractor-standard; he stacks cardboard instead of concrete slabs and seals each square with packing tape, rather than cement. When he finally fills and places the last box on his stack, the monitor in front of him dings. He looks up to see a fully-built animated castle blinking on his screen. His “level” of work is, for now, complete.

Welcome to gamification, where even in spaces where we aren’t meant to be having fun, we’re playing for (sometimes questionable) wins.