Andrew Robinson

Papers

Total Citations

420

H-Index

About

Andrew Robinson is a leading voice in critical technology studies, whose work interrogates the intersection of digital surveillance, labor, and the body. His most influential contribution, "The quantified self: What counts in the neoliberal workplace" (2015, 412 citations), is a landmark critique of workplace self-tracking technologies. Drawing on new materialism, Robinson exposes how these tools, rooted in Cartesian dualism, compel workers to internalize corporate metrics of productivity and well-being, effectively transforming self-measurement into a form of neoliberal governance. This paper has become essential reading for scholars examining the dark side of the quantified self movement. In his more recent work, "Robotopias: mapping utopian perspectives on new industrial technology" (2020), Robinson shifts focus to the future, critically mapping utopian narratives surrounding robotics and AI. By challenging simplistic promises of human-machine symbiosis, he provides a nuanced framework for understanding how these technologies reshape labor and power. Robinson’s research is vital for anyone seeking to understand how digital tools are not neutral, but active forces in re-engineering our bodies, our work, and our very sense of self.