New technology and work: Exploring the challenges

Abstract

Investigations into new technologies, employment and working conditions are timeless and consequently have occupied research, public policy, and popular fiction for centuries. However, in addition to the uncertainty created by the introduction of new technologies, the current coronavirus pandemic, with its associated impact on health and the economy, has led to increased volatility across the globe. The global medical crisis arising from the worldwide spread of COVID-19 is predicted to lead to a global economic crisis and subsequent deep depression. The resultant economic, social and political repercussions are likely to be felt for years or even decades to come, equalling the great depression of the last century. Consequently, it is difficult to make long-term accurate predictions about the impact of new technologies on industry, society, and labour. In this context, the aim of this introductory article to the themed volume is to consider the potential challenges and opportunities associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and potential impacts on work and workplaces. This introductory article comprises an international collection of research that examines the impact of technological change on employment and working conditions with consideration given to the additional impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. JEL Codes: O14, O33

Forecasts for the Future of Work That the Covid-19 Pandemic Anticipated and Its Main Repercussions

“…So then, to study the impacts of COVID-19 on forecasts for the future of work were used the paradigms described in the literature selected on the meta-analysis (Cho, 2020;Biron et al 2020;Vaziri, Casper, Wayne & Matthews, 2020;Kniffin et al, 2020;Schulte et al, 2020;Coombs, 2020;Felknor et al, 2020;Aulakh, Duggal & Sutton, 2020;Howe, Chauhan, Soderberg & Buckley, 2020;Burgess & Connell, 2020;Baum, Mooney, Robinson & Solnet, 2020;Nissen, 2020;Parker, 2020;Zemtsov, 2020) and made a survey to collect the real mapping of the scenario in Brazil.…”

“…Forecasts appoint that 30 to 47% of all jobs are at risk of automation, especially at the task level (Schulte et al, 2020), while predictions from The World Bank appoint that this number can reach 60% across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries (Burgess & Connell, 2020). This means that a large portion of workers performs potentially automated tasks, becoming replaceable with machines or software.…”

“…Nissen (2020) says that the future of work embrace more and more the complexity, the diversity of fields and knowledges, with more decentralization, inclusion and connectivity, and following this trend, a new techno economic paradigm (Pérez, 2003) have been building: industry 4.0, a "new industrial revolution" (Hawken, Lovins, & Lovins, 2013;Schwab, 2017) led by the universal digitalization, robotization (Ford, 2015) and creation of smart networks (Zemtsov, 2020), changing "The nature of work, the workplace, and the workforce (...) rapidly, differently, and to a greater extent than in years past, affecting greater numbers of individuals in profoundly powerful ways" (Schulte et al, 2020, p.2). There are nine pillars of the industry 4.0 (Rüßmann et al, 2015apud Silva, 2017 There are some arguments against the IA of work, such as limitations on availability and reliability of big data, the existence of many tasks that favour humans, narrow capabilities of IA technologies, the high availability of human workers (Coombs, 2020) and the uncertain about massive job losses (Burgess & Connell, 2020). However, the changes promoted by AI on work may be accelerated on important events that shake the world social, economic and politics scenario, as of the outbreak, due to the economic need in the midst of human vulnerability to the COVID-19 pathogen.…”

Illusory freedom of physical platform workers: Insights from Uber Eats in Japan

“…Platform work is linked to weakened individual and collective bargaining power of workers, often forcing them to work under tougher conditions and at reduced wages. It also enhances work uncertainty in the labour market, stimulates income instability, and a consistent demand for uniform tasks triggers de-skilling in the labour market and a downfall in wages (Bellace, 2018;Burgess and Connell, 2020;Flanagan, 2019;Howe, 2006;Huws et al, 2018;Kenney and Zysman, 2016;Moore, 2017;Shibata, 2020;Srnicek, 2017). Also, the demand for homogeneous tasks leads to an interchangeable and invisible form of labour that ultimately increases competition among platform workers, and allows platform companies to benefit from this increased competition by offering 'zero hour' employment contracts and evade their obligations towards workers (Holtgrewe, 2014;Shibata, 2020: 538).…”

Will Communication of Job Creation Facilitate Diffusion of Innovations in the Automobile Industry?

“…Although workers in traditional occupations may attempt to improve their skills, they find it challenging to balance rest and skill improvement (i.e., receiving a college education) [73,74]. In addition, new technologies may make it unnecessary to provide long-term jobs, which undermine labor standards [75]. More seriously, new technologies may concentrate power within global technology multinationals, making it more difficult for employees to negotiate [75].…”