AI on the Shopfloor

Accountability is a key concern for the design with algorithms and data in the workplace. Employees of all kinds are increasingly responsible for generating data as part of their day-to-day work (e.g., tracking work hours; tracking client interactions; demonstrating project progress). Given that new work tracking tools appear to enable more and more types of work documentation, the opportunity arises to understand work accountability, class, and labor as they develop in practice. Work accountability in this context is the information employees deem reasonable to share and document about their work practices, progress, and outcomes; with whom employees want to share that information; and under what circumstances that information protects employees or makes them vulnerable to other stakeholders.