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

Allison J. Pugh

Book - 2024

"A timely and urgent argument for preserving the work that connects us in the age of automation. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and labor-saving technologies like self-checkouts and automated factories, the future of work has never been more uncertain, and even jobs requiring high levels of human interaction are no longer safe. The Last Human Job explores the human connections that underlie our work, arguing that what people do for each other in these settings is valuable and worth preserving. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations with people in a broad range of professions--from physicians, teachers, and coaches to chaplains, therapists, caregivers, and hairdressers--Allison Pugh develops the concept o...f "connective labor," a kind of work that relies on empathy, the spontaneity of human contact, and a mutual recognition of each other's humanity. The threats to connective labor are not only those posed by advances in AI or apps; Pugh demonstrates how profit-driven campaigns imposing industrial logic shrink the time for workers to connect, enforce new priorities of data and metrics, and introduce standardized practices that hinder our ability to truly see each other. She concludes with profiles of organizations where connective labor thrives, offering practical steps for building a social architecture that works. Vividly illustrating how connective labor enriches the lives of individuals and binds our communities together, The Last Human Job is a compelling argument for us to recognize, value, and protect humane work in an increasingly automated and disconnected world"--

Saved in:
1 being processed

2nd Floor New Shelf Show me where

306.36/Pugh
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor New Shelf 306.36/Pugh (NEW SHELF) Checked In
  • List of Figures
  • Preface
  • 1. Introduction: The Power of Seeing the Other
  • 2. The Value of Connecting
  • 3. The Automation Frontier
  • 4. How to Be a Human: Connective Labor as Artisanal Practice
  • 5. The Social Architecture of Connective Labor
  • 6. Systems Come for Connective Labor
  • 7. Connecting across Difference: The Power and Peril of Inequality
  • 8. Doing It Right: Building a Social Architecture That Works
  • 9. Conclusion: Choosing Connection
  • Acknowledgments
  • Appendix. "Maybe We're Going to Turn You into a Chaplain": Studying Connection
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

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

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

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

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.