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Short abstract:

In this paper, I advocate for a new understanding of 'future visions’ of work grounded in the granularity of actual tech work. Calling for a focus on the work dynamics underlying the emergence of alternative future scenarios and intervening in shaping the imaginative landscape of the tech industry.

Long abstract:

This paper addresses the challenge of comprehending how individuals within the tech industry conceptualise the future of work. I discuss the diverse technologies and imaginative frameworks shaping future trajectories of tech work. While the tech industry wields significant influence in shaping societal perceptions of work futures through epic narratives and speculative visions, this paper argues that the reality of tech work is far more complex, dispersed across various contexts and abstract realms. Ethnographic studies have debunked the notion of a homogenous tech workforce, revealing diverse practices, ideologies, professions, and affiliations (Lanzeni, 2016). Contrary to media portrayals and academic assumptions, tech workers do not conform to a singular collective but a heterogeneous constellation of professional practices and unwitting work in many industries.

Drawing on the intersection of futures anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork with tech workers designing, developing and conceptualising IoT and GenAI Simulations tech in two different industries (tech and health) in Europe and Australia.

I advocate for a new understanding of 'future visions of work' grounded in the granularity of actual tech work. In doing so, I call for a focus on the work dynamics underlying the emergence of alternative future scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of the effects of tech work on how society envisions the future of work. Further, I explore strategies for intervention in shaping the imaginative landscape of the tech industry.