This essay evaluates the state-of-the-art in the debate on automation, advocating for a renewed dialogue between political economy and the history of science and technology (HST). While many theories exist that explain automation based on external factors (ranging from economic and military investments to the application of science in production including also phenomena of social antagonism against machines), few adequately elucidate the relationship between the design of automation and such external factors. In between value theories of automation and standpoint theories of automation, the essay revisits externalist and practice-centred theories automation, termed labour theories of automation, which were central in 19th-century political economy and shared by key authors such as Adam Smith, Charles Babbage, and Karl Marx. It is argued that these theories remains relevant for understanding technological developments in late capitalism, extending into the age of information, artificial intelligence (AI), and platform economy, and for proving a synthesis of automation theories in general.
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- Matteo Pasquinelli, “Theories of Automation from the Industrial Factory to AI Platforms: An Overview of Political Economy and History of Science and Technology”, Tecnoscienza – Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies 15(1), 2024, 99–112.
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