DIGITLab Autumn Newsletter 2024 - Part 1

This Autumn we are excited to share: a new Seminar from our series, new team members, our participation in the Institute for Government Party Conferences, videos and impact awards from our researchers, and Digital Leaders conference.

September 19, 2024

DIGITLab Seminar Series: Reimagining Productivity in the Era of Distributed Cyborg Systems

Our October speaker C. Merrell Stone is the Strategic Foresight and Human Systems Research Lead at Avanade Inc. Follow her on LinkedIn

This seminar explores the evolving landscape of productivity in modern workplaces, particularly amidst the rise of distributed cyborg systems. Traditional management approaches rely on quantifying visible, task-oriented labor, yet contemporary job structures increasingly involve intangible elements, posing challenges even for front-line workers. This necessitates a fundamental reassessment of how we define and apply productivity metrics across the workforce.

Despite calls for emphasising "human" skills like communication and contextualisation, practical barriers persist. Many find that soft skills hold limited sway against AI-driven screening processes, highlighting the need for a nuanced approach to evaluating productivity. Moreover, existing productivity metrics are deeply rooted in power structures, prompting considerations on how these dynamics might shift to empower workers in a world where they have greater ownership over production means.

The seminar delves into pivotal questions regarding the role of generative AI in reshaping productivity paradigms and its potential to supplant existing frameworks. These inquiries, while seemingly abstract, strike at the essence of meaningful work, data ownership, and equitable distribution of benefits. By engaging with these issues, we can pave the way for more inclusive and adaptive approaches to productivity assessment in the age of distributed cyborg systems.

Institute for Government Labour and Conservative Party Conferences 2024

The future of the UK’s Public Services could be in the brink of collapse, if administrative costs are not updated to cloud-based platforms.

Mark Thompson, a Professor of Digital Economy at the University of Exeter and member of Digit Lab, is set to make this case for UK public service reform at events held at the Labour and Conservative Party conferences in Liverpool and Birmingham.

Online platforms would eliminate effort and administrative costs across local authorities and reduce annual spending by millions. Sectors such as health, registries, and housing could be benefitted by these ‘servitised platfoms’ providing better customer services and putting taxes to better use.

Read more about this event on our press release, and follow us on X and LinkedIn for on-the-day news.

Dr. Gokçen Yilmaz nominated for a University of Exeter Knowledge Exchange Award 🎉

Congratulations to our own Dr. Gokçen Yilmaz for the new nomination for an Exeter Knowledge Impact Award!

The awards celebrate the exchange of ideas, expertise, experience and results between researchers and research users. These interactions enhance the ways in which problems are solved, especially as the application of ideas in real-world scenarios is often key to evaluate future directions in research, that will impact the world.

Dr. Yilmaz’ research focuses on the digital transformation of the built environment using technologies like building information modelling, digital twins, and material passports, aiming to improve sustainability and traceability within this sector. Her work has been nominated in the Early Career Researcher impact category - Bright Futures, open to staff with less than three years' experience at the university. A fantastic achievement!

Welcome to our new DIGITLab team members

A warm welcome to our new Post Graduate Research Fellows Dr. Jiazhen Zhang and Dr. Jiawei Zheng who have recently joined our group. We wish you the best of luck in your research!

Save the date! 🗓

This year’s Digital Leaders week will feature talks by:

 

Our DIGITLab Director Prof. Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen focusing on how Data and AI can be used to drive innovation. Book your place here💡

Prof Mark Thompson focusing on a Public Service Reform Bill. Book your place here💡