Aside from Deterministic Prophecies, What Is Missing in the Contemporary Debate on Automation and the Future of Work? The Case of Automated Vehicles

Abstract

Debates around the future of work have (re-)emerged strongly as concerns about a new era of workplace automation grow from a plethora of narratives estimating the potential of machine substitution. This research aims to analyse how these perspectives dictate current discussions based on taken-for-granted assumptions about work. The analysis takes the lens of work psychology and delves into the case of automated vehicles (AVs), an oft-debated form of automation by its implications for the transport workforce. We explore how the debate is subdued to a deterministic “metrological universe”, overloading the present epoch with certainty about imaginaries of “driverless futures”. However, when we move our attention beyond the quantitative speculation of future employment and connect automation with the concrete socio-professional realities of transport workers, such imaginaries are deconstructed while key issues regarding the quality of work with AVs emerge. By arguing that such issues remain “forgotten” in dominant technological discussions, bipartite and tripartite actions towards decent work are gathered, considering the institutional constellation in road transport. As future research, we propose to challenge those governance models predicated on the language of AV acceptance, which ultimately places the responsibility of managing the uncertainties that AVs hold on the shoulders of transport workers.