31.10. Perspectives to Visible and Invisible forms of work - Afternoon Seminar

Leo Lau & Digit / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date & Time: October 31, 13:15-15:00

Location: Soc & Kom, room 210 (Snellmanninkatu 12, University of Helsinki)

Technological systems often conceal the human work that sustains them. This concealment upholds myths of efficiency and neutrality, masking the uneven distribution of value and exploitation. In this afternoon seminar, three researchers from the Datafied Life Collaboratory use invisible and visible forms of work to expose the human infrastructures of technology. We bring together empirical cases to clarify how labor is rendered invisible and who or what benefits from that invisibility. The cases range from senior citizens in Shanghai engaging with micro-task platforms and gamified earning apps, to data-related tasks within carceral institutions, and to an examination of the everyday fixes, ad hoc processes, and organizational patches that keep AI systems functioning.

The afternoon seminar builds on insights from the morning workshop led by Associate Professor Amir Payberah (KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden), who will also offer commentary on the seminar presentations. You are warmly invited to attend both events. Please note that while the seminar is open to all, advance registration is required for the workshop.

Programme

13:15 Doctoral Researcher Jingwen Gan (University of Helsinki): Shanghai Older Adults as Informal Labor: Micro-Work, Play, and Earning on Money-Making Apps

13:45 University Researcher Tuukka Lehtiniemi (University of Helsinki): Visible data work behind the opaque prison walls

14:15 Doctoral Researcher Santtu Räisänen (University of Helsinki):Workarounds as the invisible work of maintaining AI innovation

14:45 Final discussion 

15:00 The event ends