No automation please, we’re British: technology and the prospects for work
Open accessAbstract
This article assesses the impact and probably limits of automation. It looks, in particular, at the case of the UK economy. The prospects for automation are seen as necessarily uncertain and potentially regressive in their effects, with technology likely to sustain a large number of low-quality jobs. The deep-seated problems of the UK economy—low-investment, low-productivity and low-real wages—are seen as key impediments to forms of automation that work for all in society. It is argued that, without wider institutional reform, the UK will be unable to reap the full potential of automation.
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Different structures of the economy, the education system, and so on, mean that AI impacts work differently in different economies, making generalisation from one national context to another difficult.
“Many researchers highlight the difficulty of generalising from one national context to another, as different structures of the economy, the education system, and so on, mean that AI impacts work differently in different economies (Luksha et al. 2015;Spencer and Slater 2020).”
From Artificial intelligence and work: a critical review of recent research from the social sciences (2024) · cites this paper as Spencer and Slater 2020
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- Authors
- Spencer, D., & Slater, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Slater, Gary
- Venue
- Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2020-03
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 117-134
- ISSN
- 1752-1378 (ISSN-L)
- 1752-1386
- OpenAlex
- W3013202251
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 4.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- orcid.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Cambridge Journal of Regions Economy and Society (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economic Development and Digital Transformation
- Keywords
- automation, future of work, low-quality jobs, low productivity, low investment, real wages, institutional reform, UK economy, technology and employment
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