2017/08/29 by Ross Boyd, Robert J. Holton · 2 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Cognitive reframing #Determinism #Digital Economy and Work Transformation #Economic and Technological Innovation #Epistemology #Innovation and Socioeconomic Development #Law #Political science #Politics #Power (physics) #Social psychology #Social science #Sociology #Structuring #Technological determinism
paper · doi:10.1177/1440783317726591
openalex publication_date 2017/08/29 · openalex created_date 2017/09/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
How far do recent innovations in robotics and artificial intelligence herald an unprecedented economic and social transformation? This article provides a critical evaluation of this question, challenging the relentless technological determinism of much debate, and reframing the issues involved within a political-economic and sociological approach. This focuses on the economic, political and historical dynamics of technological innovation, and its consequences for employment and economic re-structuring, mediated through sovereign and discursive power. A range of epistemological and empirical problems with the transformationist position are identified, and an alternative perspective proposed emphasizing complexity and uncertainty around contemporary and future trends.