Katherine T. Miller

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About

Katherine T. Miller is a leading scholar at the intersection of labor, technology, and organizational strategy, with a focus on the evolving dynamics of the gig economy and automation. Her most-cited work, "Pre-Automation: Insourcing and Automating the Gig Economy" (2020, 20 citations), introduces a groundbreaking concept that has reshaped how researchers understand platform monopolies. Miller reveals how companies in technology, logistics, and robotics strategically employ large, outsourced labor forces while simultaneously investing in in-house automation tools to eventually replace those workers—a phenomenon she terms “pre-automation.” This work illuminates a critical tension in modern capitalism, where firms leverage human labor as a temporary, flexible buffer while engineering its obsolescence. Miller’s contributions have been widely recognized for their prescience, offering a vital framework for analyzing labor exploitation and technological displacement. Her research is essential reading for students and scholars interested in the future of work, platform economies, and the hidden strategies behind automation.