This is an excerpt from a book chapter titled 'Labor' that examines the relationship between human workers and automated systems in the context of artificial intelligence. The text is aimed at readers interested in the social and economic implications of AI, particularly how labor practices are evolving. It opens with a detailed description of an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New…
This is an excerpt from a book chapter titled 'Labor' that examines the relationship between human workers and automated systems in the context of artificial intelligence. The text is aimed at readers interested in the social and economic implications of AI, particularly how labor practices are evolving. It opens with a detailed description of an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, where workers are monitored by time clocks and robots like the Kiva system move heavy shelving…
The chapter then broadens its scope to discuss how Amazon's approach exemplifies a convergence of efficiency, surveillance, and automation in modern logistics. It argues that rather than debating whether robots will replace humans, the focus should be on how humans are increasingly treated like robots through algorithmic assessment and time modulation. The text traces prehistories of workplace AI back to the Industrial Revolution, citing Adam Smith's division of labor, Karl Marx's concept of…
It mentions historical control methods like inspection houses and the labor movements that fought for shorter working days. The excerpt covers the first few pages of the chapter, setting up a critique of how AI systems exploit human bodies while masking this exploitation behind the term 'artificial intelligence.'