University of Goettingen, Germany
About Matthias
Matthias Sommer is a research associate at the University of Göttingen, Germany. He works on the DFG-funded project "Algorithmic Management in the Labor Process," which investigates how algorithmic systems reconfigure work through comparative ethnographic fieldwork in last-mile logistics, clinical settings, and public administration. Combining Labour Process Theory with sociomaterial approaches, his research takes participant observation as its primary method, with the researcher acting as co-practitioner in the field. His current writing focuses on the methodological question of how algorithms can be studied empirically in situated practice, building on Lucy Suchman's work on human–machine reconfigurations. His broader interests include technological frames, workers' technology perceptions, and the politics of automation in service and expert work.