New social relations of digital technology and the future of work: Beyond technological determinism

Abstract

This introduction sets out the context for the Special Issue and offers an in‐depth reflection on key themes addressed by our contributors. The Special Issue aims to place the social relations of production at the centre of debates about technology and the future of work, and create space for greater critical reflection on what it means to go ‘beyond technological determinism’. We identify ways in which aspects of technological determinism continue to influence debates on technology, the labour process and industrial relations, despite efforts to reject it. We argue that this influence is manifested in some persistent problems within the literature including overly rigid periodisations (such as ‘platform capitalism’), a narrow conceptual repertoire (which reifies notions like ‘algorithmic control’) and a constricted empirical focus. We elucidate the value of a social shaping of technology (SST) approach to overcome these challenges and provide a brief overview of the articles contained within the issue.

Artificial intelligence adoption in extended HR ecosystems: enablers and barriers. An abductive case research

“…Rampersad (2020) cautions HR leaders (in the context of robotic process automation) that transitions related to the acquisition of new digital skills must be handled well; with failure to do so, there is a huge risk of massive deskilling as robots replace humans. The issue of algorithmic control in the context of changing the landscape of work also needs to be examined (Joyce et al, 2023). Cortelazzo et al (2019) advocate that the role of culture in the selection and implementation of digital technologies needs to be researched.…”

Controlling the uncontrollable: the public discourse on artificial intelligence between the positions of social and technological determinism

“…The concept of technological determinism is contrasted with that of social determinism. The latter perspective is based on a social constructivist paradigm and assumes that the development of technology is largely determined by human actions and decisions (Bijker et al 2012;Pinch and Bijker 1984;Joyce et al 2023). Political actors (Yoshinaka et al 2003), citizens, or society in general (Winner 1993) are understood to be responsible.…”

Flexibility and freedom suit me better: food delivery couriers’ preferred employment status

“…However, Wood et al (2019) claim that the control exercised by algorithms deviates significantly from Taylorism in granting the worker significant levels of autonomy, task variety and complexity added with both spatial and temporal flexibility. Moreover, Joyce et al (2023) argue that algorithmic control has been overemphasized in the recent literature. They point out that practices such as worker rating or nontransparent payment systems have been in place since the beginning of the capitalist work organization ( Joyce et al, 2023 ).…”

“…Moreover, Joyce et al (2023) argue that algorithmic control has been overemphasized in the recent literature. They point out that practices such as worker rating or nontransparent payment systems have been in place since the beginning of the capitalist work organization ( Joyce et al, 2023 ). Thus, it seems that platform companies exercise power over workers, which does not necessarily represent a new organization of work but grants workers certain freedoms that are not usual in regular work contexts.…”