Ewan Oiry

Ewan Oiry’s research project, conducted at the Iméra aims to explore current evolutions in the relationship between individuals and society regarding work. The project focuses on management devices that mediate recent forms of work relationships. By emphasizing artificial intelligence tools, the study examines how these devices transform work and explores the conditions for designing artificial intelligence in the service of workers. To achieve this, Ewan Oiry employs Simondon’s conceptual framework for an original analysis of algorithmic management and its implications on work, skills, the emotions and subjectivities of workers, as well as ethical considerations. 

Algorithmic Management: A Novel Hybridization

The term “artificial intelligence” has sparked excessive hopes, but reality has shown its limitations compared to human intelligence. Ewan Oiry thus suggests using the concept of “algorithmic management” to describe computer programs that make decisions or offer choices to employees, thereby transforming their work. Levy’s approach emphasizes that this human-machine hybridization aims not to replace humans but rather to “augment” them by providing alternatives and alerts. However, integrating the recommendations of algorithmic management remains a challenge as humans may encounter difficulties in considering them while maintaining a critical capacity towards these proposals.

Simondon’s Conceptual Framework: An Innovative Approach

Ewan Oiry proposes adopting Simondon’s analytical framework to understand how algorithmic management transforms and is transformed by the relationship between individuals and society regarding work. This framework enables capturing the specifics of work, the skills involved, as well as the emotions and subjectivities generated in workers by this new form of management. The analysis will also involve an international comparison to enrich the perspective and include the omnipresent ethical dimension of algorithmic management.