Deadline: April 15th
International Labor and Working-Class History:
The Global Labor History of Artificial Intelligence
https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20060412/global-labor-history-artificial-intelligence
The International Labor and Working-Class History journal (ILWCH) invites submissions for a special thematic issue on “The Global Labor History of Artificial Intelligence,” edited by Aaron Benanav (Cornell University) and Susannah Glickman (SUNY Stony Brook). This issue aims to explore both the displacement and creation of labor that these technologies entail.
Understanding AI in a Global Historical Context
We seek to understand recent developments in generative artificial intelligence within the longer history of computer and digital work. How have AI and earlier technologies been used to either promote or obscure the realities of labor? How do governments, global financial institutions, management consultancies, and other actors participate in promoting these narratives, and why? Why is there often a stark contrast between popular narratives of AI and the material realities of the labor involved? While much of this history has unfolded in the global North, we are especially interested in research that illuminates the labor dimensions of computing and AI across different global contexts.
AI and Labor’s Dual Role
Advances in fields such as cybernetics, information technology, data processing, expert systems, operations research, computer numerical control (CNC), telematics, and so-called “generative artificial intelligence” have been used since at least the 1940s to threaten, control, and sometimes replace workers engaged in mental labor—effectively making this labor “disappear” in the process of production. Yet the development and maintenance of these systems rely on vast amounts of often-hidden labor, including the work of keypunch operators, systems analysts, coders, switchboard operators, data processors, technicians and engineers, data-entry clerks, IT support staff, cable layers, infrastructure workers, and technical support and customer service staff. Despite their crucial roles, these workers are frequently rendered invisible, as companies downplay the labor required to create these systems. Through various means, companies have also circumvented efforts by these workers to organize, associate, and fight back.
For further information, contact Susannah Glickman (susannah.glickman@stonybrook.edu)