UMSI Theme Year Events

ELO Theme Year Events

Register at umsi.info/elo-register

Featured Event: Keynote and Case Study Competition

October 17, 2024 | 5:00 PM | Recording

Join Us for an Insightful Keynote on the Future of Work in Michigan by Ben Marchionna

The School of Information is pleased to announce an engaging keynote address as part of the UMSI Theme Year on the Future of Work, featuring Ben Marchionna, the State of Michigan’s first-ever Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer. 

Join us as we explore groundbreaking strategies for retaining and attracting top talent in the great state of Michigan.

Event Details:

Michigan's historical and current industrial and economic conditions play a critical role in attracting and retaining talent within the state. The automotive industry has historically anchored Michigan's economy; this industrial backbone fostered a skilled workforce, robust supply chains, and extensive infrastructure. In recent years, Michigan has further diversified its economic portfolio by investing heavily in technology, healthcare, and renewable energy sectors, further broadening job opportunities. However, attracting and retaining talent in Michigan has been challenging due to economic perceptions tied to declining manufacturing industries, a trend of "brain drain," and the urban-rural divide in job opportunities and amenities. Mr. Marchionna will address how UMSI students can learn about and tackle these challenges while leveraging the state's advantages to help Michigan evolve as a prime destination for a diverse and dynamic workforce.

About Mr. Marchionna: Ben Marchionna is a visionary leader in tech, strategy, and operations with an exceptional track record of fostering collaborative, entrepreneurial teams to tackle the world's toughest innovation challenges. In his current role as Michigan’s first Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer, Ben champions the holistic development of Michigan’s burgeoning innovation economy. His prior achievements include spearheading technology and business development at Electra.aero, a sophisticated startup developing hybrid-electric aircraft; leading global operations at SkySpecs, where he scaled autonomous drones and AI solutions across 26 countries; and stretching the art of the possible in national security innovation at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. Mr. Marchionna’s academic credentials include a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Product Development Engineering from the University of Southern California. 

Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into the future of work and talent management in Michigan from a leader who has consistently driven innovation across various high-tech industries. Mr. Marchionna’s talk will be a cornerstone of the UMSI Future of Work Case Study Competition, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the strategies that will shape the workforce of tomorrow. 

Case Study Competition

Past Events

Empowering Job Seekers: Harnessing Technology and Community Strengths for Economic Growth

In this presentation, we will discuss two case studies that showcase the potential of technology when combined with community engagement to drive economic growth rather than merely relying on technology alone. The first case study explores timebanking as an innovative approach to skill development. The second investigates community-based platforms that foster psychological safety and encourage resource-seeking among aspiring entrepreneurs in financially-constrained areas. We will conclude with an interactive discussion, inviting students to reflect on and brainstorm how employment technologies can better embody community values. Key considerations include: How can we create technologies that both challenge traditional capitalist frameworks and amplify community values? How can career platforms promote psychological safety and support meaningful exchanges between marginalized and privileged groups? Students will walk away from this discussion with a deeper understanding of how we can reimagine employment technologies to empower marginalized communities and foster sustainable economic growth.

- Dr. Tawanna Dillahunt is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information and an affiliate faculty of Science, Technology, and Public Policy. She leads the Social Innovations Group (SIG), an interdisciplinary group of individuals whose vision is to design, build, and enhance technologies to solve real-world problems affecting marginalized groups and individuals primarily in the U.S. Her current projects aim to address unemployment, environmental sustainability, and technical literacy by fostering social and socio-technical capital within these communities. 

- Dr. Aarti Israni is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. In collaboration with the Social Innovations Group, directed by Dr. Tawanna Dillahunt, she studies social media and identity transitions in the space of the future of work - that is, how individuals seek information and emotional support as they transition to different forms of work and the opportunities for technology (including but not limited to social media) to support their transitions. Her research aims to understand how socio-technical interventions can better support aspiring entrepreneurs in financially-constrained communities by fostering their psychological safety.

Abstract

This talk examines the combination of policies, practices, and algorithms of suspicion that control workers’ access to wages and work on digital labor platforms. I show how “fraud” acts as a quasi-legal category that legitimizes and protects platform operators’ unilateral decisions to fire workers. This case study begins with the problem of opaque account suspensions suffered by good faith workers on the platform Amazon Mechanical Turk. Through an investigation of patents, research papers, and industry documentation, the chapter constructs a view of the models and assumptions Amazon deploys to guess the difference between good and bad workers. These algorithms and the opaque organizational routines that deploy them submit workers to automated surveillance, suspicion, and terminating action – managing workers at scale and at a distance.

- Lilly Irani is an Associate Professor of Communication & Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego, where she is the Faculty Director of the UC San Diego Labor Center. She also serves as an affiliate faculty in Computer Science, the Design Lab, the Institute for Practical Ethics, and the program in Critical Gender Studies. She is the author of Chasing Innovation: Making Entrepreneurial Citizens in Modern India (Princeton University Press, 2019) and Redacted (with Jesse Marx) (Taller California, 2021). Chasing Innovation has been awarded the 2020 International Communication Association Outstanding Book Award and the 2019 Diana Forsythe Prize for feminist anthropological research on work, science, or technology, including biomedicine. Her research examines the cultural politics of high-tech work and the counter-practices they generate, as both an ethnographer, a designer, and a former technology worker.

The Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating XR and AI in Collaborative Work

Most multifaceted challenges we face today demand a collaborative approach, as they surpass the capacity of any individual to tackle alone. My research explores how technology can support or introduce new practices to the collaboration required to solve complex problems. In this talk, I will discuss how the spatial capabilities of Extended Reality (XR) and the generative capacities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can augment collective creativity and problem-solving. I will specifically address how the design of these technologies can influence their effectiveness, and highlight both the opportunities and challenges of integrating XR and AI into collaborative work environments. 

- Dr. Janet Johnson is a mixed-methods HCI researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Information (UMSI), where she works with Dr. Michael Nebeling at the Information Interaction Lab. Her current research focuses on designing and evaluating collaborative systems that enhance collective human capabilities. Janet also serves as an advisor for XRSI and contributes to creating a safety framework for medical XR creators. In general, she uses a human-centered approach to develop design frameworks that address the complexities of socio-technical systems.

Sonia will talk to students about her role at Disney, her career journey to Disney, Future of Work trends and insights, job search & portfolio advice. Sonia will also be sharing how Disney is partnering with Apple Vision Pro (demos). Bring your questions and appetite as lunch will be provided. After the event, students will have the opportunity to meet with Sonia one-on-one from 1 PM to 2 PM.