Emplacing the disposition toward automation

Abstract

In this commentary, I emphasize the necessity of situating the disposition toward automation in a place where the in-process disposition takes shape. Using this place perspective, I can critically analyze the automation's positionality and disposition's underlying structure. The analytical results remind us that a particular disposition can support the labor force’s adaptation to automation while also rejecting it. Thus, this commentary offers a more holistic understanding of automation, its impact on shifting labor relations, and how it transforms the reproduction of capital.

Situating and expanding the scope of dispositions towards automation

“…We begin with Zhao's (2024) much-welcome reminder on ‘the legitimacy and necessity of situating a disposition in place’. Drawing on a postphenomenological perspective, he argues that technology/automation must always be contextualised within its interactions, such that any disposition it instigates must, at best, be treated as momentary, and always ‘a mirror of its user and the place it is situated’.…”