The UK's job market has been beset by a perfect storm: a five-year low in vacancies alongside rising fears about AI and automation's impact on employment. But as we grapple with these challenges, it's worth recalling that workers' struggles are not new – merely the technology driving them is. Take the example of Swedish miners who protested against output monitoring in 1969, echoing a sentiment that resonates through 'We Are Not Machines', Financial Times journalist Sarah O'Connor's thought-provoking exploration of the future of work.
O'Connor's book delves into modern workplaces where humans and machines coexist – or compete. At Amazon's Sutton Coldfield warehouse, EMA4, she witnessed robots and human staff operating side-by-side, with employees working long shifts to screen data for AI camera systems. Similar scenes play out in online production lines, such as remote workers monitoring video feeds of Amazon shelves in Costa Rica and India. These examples raise fundamental questions about progress and the conditions under which these new roles are performed.
At its core, 'We Are Not Machines' is a critique of Taylorism – Frederick Winslow Taylor's 20th-century philosophy that still shapes modern workplaces today. O'Connor argues that while technology itself isn't the main issue, it often carries assumptions about human and machine interchangeability within optimised systems. These ideas can subtly embed powerful market forces into our working lives.
Ultimately, O'Connor presents a nuanced conclusion – acknowledging both the potential for technology to reshape human identity and instances of worker empowerment. Take, for example, screenwriters striking to define AI's role in scripts or Dutch care workers prioritising individual patient needs over time constraints. These stories offer a glimmer of hope that the future of work remains within our control.