Artificial Intelligence and the degradation of work
In his latest book 'Un taylorisme augmenté' ('Enhanced Taylorism') the France-based sociologist Juan Sebastián Carbonell offers a fresh perspective on the likely impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market. Rather than seeing it as a boost for productivity on the one hand or as a destroyer of jobs on the other, the academic instead describes artificial intelligence as a capitalist tool for tighter control over already downgraded work. And he calls for a social struggle centred squarely on the issue of technology and its role in the workplace. Romaric Godin reviews the academic's book.
DebatesDebates about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on work and jobs are usually clearly signposted. They come down to two approaches: either it will bring a new economic dynamism driven by higher productivity, or it will lead to a wholesale “disappearance” of jobs as they are replaced by this new technology. The countless conferences on AI involving thousands of managers and bosses are full of such discussions.
