Gloucestershire Philosopical Society

The Evolving Definition of Work in the Era of Automation - a talk by Ian Macrae

AI is a tool that many people have found remarkably useful, but the rapid adoption of language models is challenging our view of work and unique human capabilities.
Human capabilities are defined as much by our limitations as our strengths, but in understanding how our unique biological, cognitive and physical limitations force us to focus, narrow attention, prioritize time, resources and relationships in fundamentally different ways than computers operate.
Understanding the uniqueness of human psychology is essential to understanding what constitutes good work, and what should be prioritized as human work. Psychological , frameworks like Self-Determination Theory highlight that human motivation relies on autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
To better understand the current areas of psychological thinking that might maintain relevance into the future of advancing automation tech, it is also useful to look back for common threads with earlier critiques of automation. John Ruskin’s work on defining the concept of good work during the 19th-century was developed during an early wave of automation. In The Stones of Venice, Ruskin observed that cathedral stonemasons, despite not designing the overarching structures, exercised essential autonomy in their immediate tasks. Their individual creativity was evident in the rough edges, unique carvings, and imperfections that gave the structures lasting depth and beauty. The work was meaningful because it expressed agency and creativity at every scale, from individual carvings to the view of the whole cathedral. Meaningful work ultimately demands that individual human effort and creativity remain visible in the final results at every level.

Ian is a work psychologist whose research and writing focus on the relationship between people and the changing nature of work in an age of emerging technology. He is an award-winning author of books on workplace psychology and technology, including High Potential, Motivation and Performance, Dark Social, Myths of Social Media, Myths of Work and Web of Value, and have been published in a dozen languages.
His work explores how technology affects people, how people shape (and are shaped by) digital spaces, and the impact of technology on human communication, cognition and behaviour.