Technology can shape work in divergent ways. On one hand, it could reduce burdensome or tedious work, enable us to focus on the more satisfying aspects of our jobs, and perhaps even free us from work entirely. On the other hand, it could degrade job quality and satisfaction, and increase alienation.  

These tensions persist today, as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and platform mediation have significant implications for many aspects of work and employment. Social factors such as ongoing impacts from COVID-19 or discourse about the value of human labor also shape the effects of these emerging technologies.  

This course introduces students to the relationship between work and technology, and inquires into how various stakeholders (including us, as future developers, designers, and workers ourselves) might shape the futures of work and workers. We will examine how the design, implementation, and outcomes of technological change are shaped by multiple forces.