Robots and the workplace: the contribution of technology assessment to their impact on work and employment

• Type: Chapter or Part of a Book
• Date: 2022

Authors

Carvalho, Tiago Mesquita (Author) FLUP; Pereira, Tiago Santos (Author) Other

Book

Title: The 21st Century industrial robot: when tools become collaborators

Pages: 267-279

ISBN: 978-3-030-78512-3 Softcover; 978-3-030-78515-4

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-78513-0

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

Crossref

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Humanities > Philosophy

Other information

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-78513-0_15

Abstract (EN): In this chapter we address the challenges that automation/robotization poses for labor and employment issues. Our take is that technology assessment (TA) can provide a ground for both ethical reflection and social engagement towards participatory decision-making regarding the application of such technologies. The role of underlying narratives regarding robots and automation processes is also highlighted. The chapter debates labour substitution as a dominant narrative in economic analysis, while also stressing the need to contextualise technological change and innovation regarding robots and automation in the concrete work processes or tasks, bringing narratives closer to the ground. This discussion leads us to the second main theme of the chapter: the potential role of technology assessment in better exploiting the development and use of robots in the workplace, their unanticipated consequences and the ethical and social tensions arising therein. Such approaches do not aim at complete or sound predictions, but at building participatory and interdisciplinary processes. This chapter is then about how we ought to live and to relate to technology.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific