Event date/time: 6-7pm, 19th October 2021
Event location: The White Bear
Reading: “The Hidden Faces of Automation” by Lily Irani
According to many, automation is set to make our lives easier and more fulfilling: menial human labour will be eliminated, allowing people to focus on what they really want to do. But is this true? Does automation actually eliminate rote tasks, and will it bring benefits to everyone? For this discussion group, we’ll be talking about Lily Irani’s article “The Hidden Faces of Automation”, which questions dominant narratives that claim automation eliminates human labour. Irani explores the workers that make platforms like Google and Facebook tick, and why their work is often hidden from view. Some questions we’ll discuss include:
- What roles do humans play in automated systems? Is it likely some of these roles may disappear in the future or not?
- Why are some workers hidden from view, while others (e.g., software engineers and designers) are made highly visible?
- What are the consequences of using contracted workers instead of full-time employees for training automated systems?
Further Reading
“Responsible Research with Crowds: Pay Crowdworkers at Least Minimum Wage” by M S Silberman et al; (link)
“Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods” by M Graham et al; (link)
“Lifting the curtain: Strategic visibility of human labour in AI-as-a-Service” by G Newlands; (link)