Alastair Iles
Papers
2
Total Citations
79
H-Index
2
About
Alastair Iles is a leading scholar at the intersection of environmental policy, technology studies, and agricultural history. His research critically examines how technological change reshapes labor, power, and ecological relationships in food systems, with a particular focus on automation and its socio-political implications. Iles’s most influential work, “Replacing humans with machines: a historical look at technology politics in California agriculture” (46 citations), provides a foundational analysis of how mechanization has been politically negotiated, revealing that automation is never a neutral technical process but a contested arena of labor displacement and corporate control. Building on this, his paper “Inserting machines, displacing people: how automation imaginaries for agriculture promise ‘liberation’ from the industrialized farm” (33 citations) explores the narratives used to justify robotic and AI-driven farming, arguing that these “liberation” promises often mask new forms of exploitation and ecological simplification. Through his work, Iles demonstrates how historical patterns of technological adoption continue to shape contemporary agricultural futures, making his research essential for students and scholars interested in just transitions, the politics of innovation, and the human dimensions of sustainable food systems.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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