Automation and Extraction. Shifting (In)Visibilities at New Technological Frontiers: An Introduction

What is it about?

Coined as Industry 4.0, innovations in automation are seen as ushering in a new era of change amid the climate crisis and resource depletion. Yet, research on automation and extraction often remains isolated, following different traditions. This special issue seeks to bridge this gap, exploring how automation and extraction mutually reshape work, the environment, and our relationships with the material world. By focusing on how current technologies shift work functions, decision-making, and design, we argue that automation and extraction are deeply interconnected. We also discuss the empirical and conceptual significance of these interconnections, showing how automation and digitalization expand value extraction by revealing previously inaccessible domains while concealing others.

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