The last human job The work of connecting in a disconnected world

Pugh's third ethnography continues her exploration of the "inner life" of her subjects, which she studies through concerns about work and family. While sociologist Erving Goffman dissected everyday social interaction, Pugh (sociology, Univ. of Virginia) goes beyond interaction strategies that can be seen and inferred and explores the emotional/affective dimension of interaction. How people build--or are thwarted from building--meaningful supportive ties is based on more than a hundred interviews, hundreds of hours of observation, and extensive participation with groups involved in "connective labor." While her earlier Tumbleweed Society (CH, Oct'15, 53-1056) concerned precarity in working life, her current study focuses on AI, especially "as interpersonal work becomes ever more scripted and automated." Pugh poses a challenge by appreciating the importance of emotional strength in "weak ties," especially in work that may seem solitary or autonomous and when the authority of financial and HR data are ascendent. As with her other studies, this one is written well enough to absorb the attention of not only specialists but any interested reader. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. --Garth M. Massey, emeritus, University of Wyoming

For this book on labor and automation, sociologist Pugh (chair of women's, gender, and sexuality studies, Univ. of Virginia; The Tumbleweed Society) conducted hundreds of interviews with professionals in connective labor fields--doctors, nurses, chaplains, health aides, teachers, therapists, hairdressers--to understand how automation and artificial intelligence are changing their work. For instance, health professionals deal with electronic records and the profit-driven shrinking of time allotted to each patient. Therapists face time constraints too and must see more and more patients in shorter sessions, while schools turn to virtual classes that relegate in-person teachers to facilitating roles. Chaplains must keep extensive electronic records of their interactions too. Pugh posits that capitalism, which tries to wring more productivity out of these practitioners, is to blame. When people become unable to do increased workloads well, automation is often suggested. Pugh asserts that there's a real threat that automation and AI will take over, to the detriment of these workers and the people they care for. The future, she notes, may be one in which those with wealth will receive personal care from humans, whereas those without money will get less-satisfactory automated attention. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers in connective labor professions.--Caren Nichter