In an era marked by insecurity from neoliberalism, financial volatility, political instability, regional conflicts, pandemics, and the climate crisis, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing our work, organizations, societies, and the environment. This critical text explores who truly benefits from AI′s development and deployment, offering a comprehensive overview of AI′s nature, history, and applications. It delves into crucial themes such as the future of work, digitalization, neoliberalism′s impact, power dynamics, ethics, inequality, gender, race, intersectional discrimination, and environmental sustainability.

Unlike practical machine learning guides, this book examines how AI and AI-based technologies are transforming work, highlighting both benefits and potential harms. Combining critical management and leadership studies with organizational sociology, it addresses societal implications, inequality, ethics, and power often overlooked by other textbooks. John Bratton′s lucid and engaging writing style brings a cutting-edge subject to life, blending breadth, critical analysis, and academic rigor. Contemporary examples illustrate AI′s real-life implications for organizations and work today, while thought-provoking questions encourage readers to engage with and reflect on the topics throughout.

Authored by John Bratton, an Honorary Professor at Queen’s University Belfast, and Laura Steele, a Senior Lecturer in Business and Society at Queen’s University Belfast, this interdisciplinary text is essential for students studying contemporary and emerging issues in business and management, including AI, business analytics, digitalization, and the future of work. It is also recommended for courses on the sociology of work, ethics, organization studies, management, leadership, and HRM. This book is poised to become an essential textbook for courses on AI, digitalization, and the future of work, making it a valuable resource for students and educators alike.  

John Bratton is Honorary Professor in the Management School at Queen′s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has taught HRM and labour relations in UK and Canadian business schools for over 30 years. His research interests and publications have focused on the sociology of work, leadership and workplace learning. Laura Steele is a Senior Lecturer in Business and Society at Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast, where she also serves as the Director of Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability.