Abstract
The new industrial paradigm Industry 4.0, or smart industry, is at the core of contemporary debates. The public debate on Industry 4.0 typically offers two main perspectives: the technological one and the one about industrial policies. On the contrary, the discussion on the social and organizational effects of the new paradigm is still underdeveloped. The article specifically examines this aspect, and analyzes the change that workers are subject to, along with the work organization, smart digital factories. The study originates from an empirical survey conducted by the author together with a multidisciplinary research group between 2014 and 2015 in some of the largest Italian factories.
In particular, the article analyzes the links between digital society, digital culture and Industry 4.0, focusing on the issue of people’s participation in the process of change, within a specific case study from the railway sector.
Many elements of the Industry 4.0 paradigm are widespread outside the factory, in society; they are not only technological elements but also cultural. One of the key aspects of the analysis is the question of participation and the “person-centered” culture. The subject is addressed critically by presenting both the RE-personalization processes (from the centrality of the users–consumers in consumption practices to the centrality of the worker in the work paradigm 4.0) and the new processes of DE personalization caused by digital automation.
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Acknowledgements
The results presented in this article are part of an empirical research conducted by the research center Torino Nord Ovest, between January 2014 and December 2015, commissioned by IAL Nazionale, FIM CISL Piemonte, Istituto Superiore Mario Boella and also financed with the support of the Fondo Fapi. This research could not be conducted without the help of various managers in production, engineering, innovation, human resources and industrial relationships who have welcomed us to their plants and guided us through them giving us in-depth explanations of the processes.
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Mazali, T. From industry 4.0 to society 4.0, there and back. AI & Soc 33, 405–411 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-017-0792-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-017-0792-6