Dear Colleagues,
The rapid advancement of automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics is fundamentally transforming the nature of work, employment, and economic structures globally. While these technologies promise increased productivity and innovation, they also pose significant challenges concerning job displacement, the evolution of skill demands, and the potential exacerbation of socio-economic inequalities. The future of work is not a predetermined technological outcome; it is a critical field of social, political, and ethical choice that will profoundly shape prospects for equity, inclusion, and social justice in the coming decades.
This special issue aims to critically examine the multifaceted relationship between technological automation, economic inequality, and the pursuit of social justice. It seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and present forward-looking research that analyzes the drivers of change, evaluates potential societal impacts, and proposes equitable pathways forward. We invite contributions that combine empirical analysis, theoretical insight, and policy-oriented solutions. Topics of interest include:
• The impact of AI and robotics on job displacement, task transformation, and the creation of new occupations
• The evolving skills landscape, lifelong learning, and the future of education and training systems
• Automation, wage polarization, and the future of income distribution and wealth concentration
• Platform work, the gig economy, and the redefinition of employment relationships and worker protections
• Policy frameworks for a just transition: universal basic income, shorter work weeks, and social safety nets
• The role of collective bargaining, worker organization, and corporate governance in the automated workplace
• Gender, race, and geographic dimensions of inequality in the future labor market
• Ethical design of automated systems and human-centered approaches to technology deployment
We welcome original research articles, case studies, and reviews that contribute to advancing the dialogue and practice in this dynamic and evolving field.
Manuscript Submission Information
Authors should submit their manuscripts for the special issue by emailing them as an attachment to specialissue@hillpublish.com or by using the online submission system. The manuscript should be submitted by one of the authors, and submissions by anyone other than the authors will not be accepted. Additionally, the submitted manuscript should include a cover letter that specifies the special issue to which the manuscript is being submitted.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). The submitted papers should be properly formatted and written in fluent English. All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Guidelines page.