[SIGCIS-Members] CFP: ILWCH Special Issue on the Global Labor History of AI

[Jeffrey Yost]

Congratulations Susannah (& Aaron)! What a wonderful call!! A tremendous
set of questions & a much needed special issue!

Best, Jeff

On Sun, Mar 2, 2025, 8:38 AM Susannah Glickman via Members <
members at lists.sigcis.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Excited to announce this special issue on the Global Labor History of AI
> for the International Labor and Working Class Journal
> <https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20060412/global-labor-history-artificial-intelligence>,
> which I am editing with Aaron Benanav.
>
> *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 “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.
>
>
> *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.
>
>
> • What forms of labor are required to create and maintain computer and AI
> systems, and how have these roles evolved over time?
> • What is the impact of AI on traditional labor hierarchies and the
> division of mental and manual labor?
>
> • What is the relationship between AI, surveillance, and the
> intensification of labor in various workplaces?
>
> • In what ways do companies obscure the amount and types of labor involved
> in developing these technologies?
> • How does the development of these technologies intersect with issues of
> gender, race, and class in labor history?
> • How have AI and other technological advancements impacted labor markets
> differently in the global South compared to the global North?
> • What historical parallels can be drawn between the current AI hype cycle
> and past technological revolutions?
> • How have governments and policymakers shaped the labor dynamics of AI,
> both historically and in the present?
> • What strategies have workers and labor movements employed to respond to
> the rise of AI in the workplace?
>
> Please submit your 250-word abracts and circulate to friends and
> colleagues!
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Susannah
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