Robotization of Work?

The late Barbara Czarniawska, formerly Professor Emerita of Management Studies, GRI, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Bernward Joerges, Professor Dr Emeritus, Institute of Sociology, Technical University Berlin and WZB, Berlin Social Science Center, Germany

• Contents: Introduction 1. Robot revolution? 2. Robotization and popular culture 3. Robots in popular culture 4. Robots in popular culture: A tentative taxonomy 5. Robotization in the media: 2014-2017 6. Robotization in social sciences 7. (Some) conclusions References Index

'Within the rapidly proliferating field of social studies of cybernetics this brilliant book stands out in several ways. It revisits the epistemology of autopoiesis by unearthing how popular culture, science fiction and cybernetics co-constitute each other since the 1920's. In doing so this book on imaginaries and technological developments ingeniously translates one of the key problems of knowing the world into a down-to-earth empirical investigation of the various literatures and films on the robotization of work. While most recent publications that similarly aim to address the core issues of cybernetics surrender to the urge of making prophecies, Czarniawska and Joerges consequentially remain astute, sober and razor-sharp and thereby provocatively interrupt a current trend. The elegant precision of the argument and the clarity of the language deployed makes this erudite and yet modest book come as a relief when one feels overwhelmed by the high-flown premonitions surrounding us.'--Richard Rottenburg, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa