Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Boss Ex Machina (Boss Ex Machina: Mapping and Understanding the Technological Transformation of Managerial Prerogatives in Workplaces Driven by Machines, Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-09-01 bis 2022-08-31
The day-to-day functions traditionally performed by mid-level managers are increasingly being delegated to data-driven applications capable of screening résumés, assigning tasks, assessing performances, calculating wages, setting incentives and imposing sanctions.
Algorithmic management (AM)—a set of socio-technical practices that support or complement human decision-making through big data harvesting and ubiquitous computing—is gaining traction in business and attention in wider society. In fact, numerous workers are now experiencing the consequences of the expansion of the width, velocity and severity of the managerial prerogatives legally conferred on employers.
Several inherent features render the rise of ‘algorithmic bosses’ difficult to grasp. First, it involves a gradual makeover that takes place at different paces in different industries. Second, it is almost invisible and faceless, involving characteristics that can have a chilling effect on both individual awareness and collective resistance. It also makes grievances more complex for those exposed to such systems as well as for the judiciaries. Third, it appears innocuous when presented as a magic bullet for solving problems related to human subjectivity, bottlenecks, lack of fairness and systematic disparities.
AM threatens to disrupt the equilibrium that exists between powers and their relevant limits, as it allows for the dodging of legal rules intended to limit the extent of managerial prerogatives. Code-based systems add a new layer of complexity because they are undeniably more powerful and indecipherable than human power holders. It may prove difficult to reconstruct or document procedural steps in an extensive way when the sources of power are fragmented across multiple actors.
The ‘Boss Ex Machina’ MSCA sought to unveil and unravel the digital transformation of managerial functions within workplaces driven by machines, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms. The main research questions were as follows. Is employer authority today the same as it was in the past? How are workforces currently managed in ‘regular workplaces’ (not only within the gig economy)? Is the existing legal framework able to address the intensification of authority that is facilitated by technologies?
Through the adoption of a qualitative approach, the experiences of a group of employees, who all work in companies that have implemented modern (albeit not necessarily digital) human resources practices, were mapped. Here, management practices were found to interact with the underlying authority structures. They constrained workers’ autonomy by means of inelastic monitoring, constant instructions and excessive reporting duties.
Through the application of a multidimensional, anticipatory and participatory approach, the project focused on integrating the substantive and procedural rules that contribute to the rebalancing of the asymmetries within workplaces. Using examples derived from case law, administrative decisions and legislative developments, the mutually reinforcing relationship between data protection provisions and anti-discrimination measures was unpacked. The involvement of worker representatives in the co-designing of future-proof organisational policies was deemed to be crucial.
Algorithmic management (AM)—a set of socio-technical practices that support or complement human decision-making through big data harvesting and ubiquitous computing—is gaining traction in business and attention in wider society. In fact, numerous workers are now experiencing the consequences of the expansion of the width, velocity and severity of the managerial prerogatives legally conferred on employers.
Several inherent features render the rise of ‘algorithmic bosses’ difficult to grasp. First, it involves a gradual makeover that takes place at different paces in different industries. Second, it is almost invisible and faceless, involving characteristics that can have a chilling effect on both individual awareness and collective resistance. It also makes grievances more complex for those exposed to such systems as well as for the judiciaries. Third, it appears innocuous when presented as a magic bullet for solving problems related to human subjectivity, bottlenecks, lack of fairness and systematic disparities.
AM threatens to disrupt the equilibrium that exists between powers and their relevant limits, as it allows for the dodging of legal rules intended to limit the extent of managerial prerogatives. Code-based systems add a new layer of complexity because they are undeniably more powerful and indecipherable than human power holders. It may prove difficult to reconstruct or document procedural steps in an extensive way when the sources of power are fragmented across multiple actors.
The ‘Boss Ex Machina’ MSCA sought to unveil and unravel the digital transformation of managerial functions within workplaces driven by machines, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms. The main research questions were as follows. Is employer authority today the same as it was in the past? How are workforces currently managed in ‘regular workplaces’ (not only within the gig economy)? Is the existing legal framework able to address the intensification of authority that is facilitated by technologies?
Through the adoption of a qualitative approach, the experiences of a group of employees, who all work in companies that have implemented modern (albeit not necessarily digital) human resources practices, were mapped. Here, management practices were found to interact with the underlying authority structures. They constrained workers’ autonomy by means of inelastic monitoring, constant instructions and excessive reporting duties.
Through the application of a multidimensional, anticipatory and participatory approach, the project focused on integrating the substantive and procedural rules that contribute to the rebalancing of the asymmetries within workplaces. Using examples derived from case law, administrative decisions and legislative developments, the mutually reinforcing relationship between data protection provisions and anti-discrimination measures was unpacked. The involvement of worker representatives in the co-designing of future-proof organisational policies was deemed to be crucial.
Antonio has conducted both empirical and theoretical research, completed teaching and training sessions, and expanded his international professional network, thereby sowing the seeds of new collaborations. As a result of the MSCA, he has strengthened his ability to design and execute cutting-edge research on topical issues at the forefront of policymaking, litigation and public opinion.
• Antonio began this intellectual journey with a descriptive phase, which involved a preliminary analysis of relevant case law and legislative initiatives at the national, EU and international levels. It also entailed an exploration of the reconfiguration of workplace dynamics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Having collected preliminary evidence concerning the transformation of the notion of ‘employers’ power’, Antonio moved on to conceptualise this shift in theoretical essays. Antonio conducted an empirical study that provided him with an opportunity to enhance his skills through learning how to implement a new methodology.
• The acquired understanding of the role of new workplace technologies prompted Antonio to conduct a regulatory fitness analysis of the current legal framework. Moving beyond the ‘comfort zone’ of labour law, Antonio expanded his horizons by connecting with the data protection, non-discrimination and occupational health and safety regulation fields. He assessed the effectiveness of the regulatory synergies between these institutions. Antonio worked on ‘Your Boss is an Algorithm. Artificial Intelligence, Platform Work and Labour’, co-authored with Valerio De Stefano and published by Hart Publishing.
• The work during all the phases of the project was accompanied by constant communication and dissemination programmes that involved research outputs, blog posts, podcasts and video abstracts. The arguments made in Antonio’s publications have been reported by numerous media outlets. He has presented his research findings at several international competition-based conferences, and he has been invited to be a guest or keynote speaker on multiple occasions.
• Antonio has completed a comprehensive training programme that has remarkably strengthened his teaching, interpersonal, language and management skills. The research stream inaugurated thanks to his MSCA now forms part of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence dedicated to the study of law and automation.
• Antonio began this intellectual journey with a descriptive phase, which involved a preliminary analysis of relevant case law and legislative initiatives at the national, EU and international levels. It also entailed an exploration of the reconfiguration of workplace dynamics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Having collected preliminary evidence concerning the transformation of the notion of ‘employers’ power’, Antonio moved on to conceptualise this shift in theoretical essays. Antonio conducted an empirical study that provided him with an opportunity to enhance his skills through learning how to implement a new methodology.
• The acquired understanding of the role of new workplace technologies prompted Antonio to conduct a regulatory fitness analysis of the current legal framework. Moving beyond the ‘comfort zone’ of labour law, Antonio expanded his horizons by connecting with the data protection, non-discrimination and occupational health and safety regulation fields. He assessed the effectiveness of the regulatory synergies between these institutions. Antonio worked on ‘Your Boss is an Algorithm. Artificial Intelligence, Platform Work and Labour’, co-authored with Valerio De Stefano and published by Hart Publishing.
• The work during all the phases of the project was accompanied by constant communication and dissemination programmes that involved research outputs, blog posts, podcasts and video abstracts. The arguments made in Antonio’s publications have been reported by numerous media outlets. He has presented his research findings at several international competition-based conferences, and he has been invited to be a guest or keynote speaker on multiple occasions.
• Antonio has completed a comprehensive training programme that has remarkably strengthened his teaching, interpersonal, language and management skills. The research stream inaugurated thanks to his MSCA now forms part of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence dedicated to the study of law and automation.
The ‘Boss Ex Machina’ MSCA has added a new and much-needed perspective on the profoundly impactful digital transformation currently taking place at the workplace level. While the prior literature has mostly focused on important issues such as the emergence and regulation of platform-mediated work or the psychosocial risks faced by workers in automated warehouses, the scope of the MSCA investigation has been broader and deeper, with the aim being to provide an overview of the qualitative shifts occurring in otherwise neglected ‘regular’ industries.
The project has contributed to the development of a far-reaching understanding of the new phenomena of datafication and the ‘wiring’ of working relationships, which have led to the emergence of unparalleled legal and societal challenges. It has also supported the legislative process, particularly at the EU level. In addition, public knowledge of related issues has significantly grown as a result of the project. Indeed, the work undertaken to ‘popularise’ these topics has paid off. Progress has also been made in terms of awareness and understating within a number of communities, including trade unions, business organisations, policymakers, scholars and students.
The exploration of the phenomena and the assessment of the suitability of the current legal framework cannot stop here. Thus, the findings of this MSCA will form the basis for new research projects. A profound reshuffling is currently occurring within the labour market, giving rise to new trends that deserve to be tackled by combining expertise that are often mobilised in isolation. Labour law needs to be combined with labour economics, geography and sociology to offer a compelling explanation of today’s reality.
The project has contributed to the development of a far-reaching understanding of the new phenomena of datafication and the ‘wiring’ of working relationships, which have led to the emergence of unparalleled legal and societal challenges. It has also supported the legislative process, particularly at the EU level. In addition, public knowledge of related issues has significantly grown as a result of the project. Indeed, the work undertaken to ‘popularise’ these topics has paid off. Progress has also been made in terms of awareness and understating within a number of communities, including trade unions, business organisations, policymakers, scholars and students.
The exploration of the phenomena and the assessment of the suitability of the current legal framework cannot stop here. Thus, the findings of this MSCA will form the basis for new research projects. A profound reshuffling is currently occurring within the labour market, giving rise to new trends that deserve to be tackled by combining expertise that are often mobilised in isolation. Labour law needs to be combined with labour economics, geography and sociology to offer a compelling explanation of today’s reality.