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Examining the impact of emerging technologies on care workers 

This project addresses the care crisis in high-income societies, where growing demand and worker shortages are exacerbated by substandard working conditions. Focusing on the often-overlooked care workers, the project champions innovations in care technology that enhance worker conditions and well-being. Utilising a sociotechnical and ethical lens, we evaluate the impacts of new technologies on the care workforce, highlighting associated social and ethical issues. Through our research, we engage about participants from technology industries and care sectors in interviews and co-design activities, aimed at challenging the industry-dominant narratives and developing more just and plural visions for future solutions for care workers. The results are intended to inform the development of future care technologies, services, and policies, ensuring they support a sustainable and ethical care workforce.

Art works by Avitra Trongtrairat, Dolrit Ittipholphasisan, Sarocha Limswad, Dianne Lin

This project is funded by: USYD’s International SDG Collaboration Program 2024

People

  • The National University of Singapore:
    • A/Prof Jung-Joo Lee,
    • Dr Janghee Cho,
    • Dr Pin Sym Foong,
    • Tse Pei,
    • Celeste Seah

  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University:
    • Dr Dongjin Song,
    • Renxuan Liu (PhD student)

  • The University of Edinburgh:
    • Jiashuo Liu (PhD student),
    • Dr Luis Saores,
    • Prof Sarah Kettley

  • Aalto University:
    • Dr Virpi Roto,
    • Dr Martina Čaić
Publications
  • Wu, Y., Lee, J.-J., Pillai, A., Cho, J., Sachathep, T., Ahmadpour, N., Roto, V., Liu, J., Sawan, M., Song, D., Čaić, M., Cheng, L., Kettley, S., Liu, R., Soares, L., Grace, K., & Astell-Burt, T. (2024). Collective imaginaries for the future of care work. In Companion of the 2024 Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW Companion ’24), November 9-13, 2024, San Jose, Costa Rica (4 pages). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3678884.3681838