Neither ‘Neo-Luddism’ nor ‘Neo-Positivism’; Rethinking Social Work’s Positioning in the Context of Rapid Technological Change

In his essay evaluating the nature and effectiveness of the ‘machine wrecking’ movements of the early nineteenth century, Hobsbawm (1952) argued against stereotyping these movements as misguided attempts by backward labourers to slow down the progress of mechanisation. Instead, he noted that for many workers involved in these movements, their opposition to mechanisation was driven by a range of concerns, from fears of unemployment and the disruption of their communities, to the escalation of industrial conflict and the use of ‘machine wrecking’ as a bargaining tool. Despite the complex political and sociological origins of these movements, historical oversimplification has reduced this historical event to a caricature often invoked in discussions about the ethical challenges posed by technological advancement. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, our societies experienced another triumphant step towards technological progress with the rise of the ‘Internet of Things’. This technology provided the context of near-limitless opportunities for inter-connection and rapid information sharing. More importantly, the vast digitisation linked to the ‘Internet of Things’ paved the way for the current stage of the transformative technological revolution we are experiencing; Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is exactly the creation and sharing of Big Data that allows AI machines to access vast amounts of knowledge, review statistical patterns and synthesise data towards the production of ‘solutions’ that seem coherent, valid and potentially transformative.