The Warehouse: Workers and Robots at Amazon - Couverture souple

Delfanti, Alessandro

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0745342175 ISBN 13 : 9780745342177

Editeur : Pluto Press, 2021

Synopsis

‘Work hard, have fun, make history’ proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon’s warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers’ desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon’s warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers’ every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour’s flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner ‘we are not robots’, employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon’s empire collapses?

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Alessandro Delfanti teaches Digital Media at the University of Toronto. He is the author of 'Biohackers: The Politics of Open Science' (Pluto, 2013).

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Pluto Press
• Date d'édition: 2021
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0745342175
• ISBN 13: 9780745342177
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 192
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible