This seminar is part of the ERI’s Seminar Series
Time and Place
Wednesday 13 September 2017, 1pm-2pm
The Boardroom 2/04, Edinburgh Napier University, Craiglockhart Campus
Speakers
Dr Kendra Briken (University of Strathclyde)
Theme
Over the last two years, we could see new interest in work related topics in the media. The discourse is driven partly by a rather blunt technology-determinist approach. On one hand, the scaremongering about job losses and the rise of the robots is ubiquitous. On the other, utopian visions of a post-capitalist society seem to become more concrete, and there is an increasing attention paid to the universal basic income. Given that automation and robotisation is not that much of a new trend, data about rising numbers of sold robots, and the announcement of job automation in Chinese factories are taken as evidence to the end of work.
Undeniably, the potential of recent robotics has changed qualitatively in that big data and the ever developing algorithms are much more resilient and flexible than their ancestors. However, the creation and use of technology remains deeply embedded in existing power relations. In my talk, I will focus on first empirical insights into the emerging socio-technological systems. With the example of early adopters of ‘Industry 4.0’ (Germany), I will discuss some trends in manufacturing and service delivery in regards to the labour process and employment relations.
Registration
The seminar is free to attend. Please RSVP Dr Gavin Maclean (g.maclean@napier.ac.uk)
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