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Patchwork: The Hidden, Human Labor of AI Integration within Essential Work

Authors:

Samantha Shorey,

Esther Y. Kang,

Dominique Montiel Valle,

Estefania RodriguezAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 7, Issue CSCW1

Article No.: 81, Pages 1 - 20

https://doi.org/10.1145/3579514

Published: 16 April 2023 Publication History

Abstract

This paper examines the rapid introduction of AI and automation technologies within essential industries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on participant observation and interviews within two sites of waste labor in the United States, we consider the substantial effort performed by frontline workers who smooth the relationship between robotics and their social and material environment. Over the course of the research, we found workers engaged in continuous acts of calibration, troubleshooting, and repair required to support AI technologies over time. In interrogating these sites, we develop the concept of "patchwork": human labor that occurs in the space between what AI purports to do and what it actually accomplishes. We argue that it is necessary to consider the often-undervalued frontline work that makes up for AI's shortcomings during implementation, particularly as CSCW increasingly turns to discussions of Human-AI collaboration.

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Doggett OGram SJit SHarb BHarb HShafik MSoden RRatto M(2024)Digital Gig Work Under Unstable Energy Infrastructures: Invisible Workarounds and Alternative ImaginariesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869498:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
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Index Terms

Patchwork: The Hidden, Human Labor of AI Integration within Essential Work
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 7, Issue CSCW1

CSCW

April 2023

3836 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3593053

Editor:
Jeff Nichols
Google

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Copyright © 2023 Owner/Author.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International 4.0 License.

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Published: 16 April 2023

Published in PACMHCI Volume 7, Issue CSCW1

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Cited By

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https://doi.org/10.5209/emp.97746
Lin HKarusala NOkolo CD'Ignazio CGajos K(2024)"Come to us first": Centering Community Organizations in Artificial Intelligence for Social Good PartnershipsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36870098:CSCW2(1-28)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3687009
Doggett OGram SJit SHarb BHarb HShafik MSoden RRatto M(2024)Digital Gig Work Under Unstable Energy Infrastructures: Invisible Workarounds and Alternative ImaginariesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869498:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3686949
Cheon EXu S(2024)Creative Precarity in Motion: Revealing the Hidden Labor Behind Animating Virtual CharactersProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3661545(3471-3484)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
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