Constrained self-determination and self-development: Understanding user experiences connected to automated decision-making in employment and welfare systems
(2025) SIMZ51 20251Graduate School
- Abstract
- In Sweden, unemployed jobseekers increasingly encounter automated decision-making systems (ADMs) when applying for both jobs and welfare support. The present qualitative project interpreted the lived experiences of 14 interviewees within these increasingly automated environments, with the aim of finding unjust constraints on their self-determination and self-development, as well as to spot potential differences from before the Swedish Public Employment Service (SPES) introduced an ADM in September of 2019. In doing so, the study also sought to provide insights into how this societal move towards automation might result in injustices at a larger scale. This was accomplished through a deductive thematic analysis grounded in critical realism... (More)
- In Sweden, unemployed jobseekers increasingly encounter automated decision-making systems (ADMs) when applying for both jobs and welfare support. The present qualitative project interpreted the lived experiences of 14 interviewees within these increasingly automated environments, with the aim of finding unjust constraints on their self-determination and self-development, as well as to spot potential differences from before the Swedish Public Employment Service (SPES) introduced an ADM in September of 2019. In doing so, the study also sought to provide insights into how this societal move towards automation might result in injustices at a larger scale. This was accomplished through a deductive thematic analysis grounded in critical realism and informed by a combination of macrolevel theorizing on injustice and the psychological self-determination theory (SDT). This lens allowed for the participants’ experiences to be interpreted as reflections of underlying oppressive institutional practices related to ADMs. The project found that the SPES’s shift to a reliance on rigid ADM systems in particular risks further disempowering and marginalizing Swedish jobseekers by removing human contact and decision-making, thereby constraining their self-determination through unnegotiable demands and punishments. Additionally, the lack of human contact can serve to constrain their self-development by removing sources of social capital that are vital for tackling challenges presented by ADMs in the private sector. The latter is noted as particularly concerning given the modern replacement of humans with ADMs across various contexts, potentially rendering people isolated and incapable of navigating the systems they’re increasingly being subjected to. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9193666
- author
- Drozd, Alexander LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ51 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Sweden, unemployment, welfare, ADM, algorithms, self-determination, self-development
- language
- English
- id
- 9193666
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-25 11:22:42
- date last changed
- 2025-06-25 11:22:42
@misc{9193666,
abstract = {{In Sweden, unemployed jobseekers increasingly encounter automated decision-making systems (ADMs) when applying for both jobs and welfare support. The present qualitative project interpreted the lived experiences of 14 interviewees within these increasingly automated environments, with the aim of finding unjust constraints on their self-determination and self-development, as well as to spot potential differences from before the Swedish Public Employment Service (SPES) introduced an ADM in September of 2019. In doing so, the study also sought to provide insights into how this societal move towards automation might result in injustices at a larger scale. This was accomplished through a deductive thematic analysis grounded in critical realism and informed by a combination of macrolevel theorizing on injustice and the psychological self-determination theory (SDT). This lens allowed for the participants’ experiences to be interpreted as reflections of underlying oppressive institutional practices related to ADMs. The project found that the SPES’s shift to a reliance on rigid ADM systems in particular risks further disempowering and marginalizing Swedish jobseekers by removing human contact and decision-making, thereby constraining their self-determination through unnegotiable demands and punishments. Additionally, the lack of human contact can serve to constrain their self-development by removing sources of social capital that are vital for tackling challenges presented by ADMs in the private sector. The latter is noted as particularly concerning given the modern replacement of humans with ADMs across various contexts, potentially rendering people isolated and incapable of navigating the systems they’re increasingly being subjected to.}},
author = {{Drozd, Alexander}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Constrained self-determination and self-development: Understanding user experiences connected to automated decision-making in employment and welfare systems}},
year = {{2025}},
}