Digital Twin (DT) technology is far from being comprehensive and mature, resulting in their piecemeal implementation in practice where some functions are automated by DTs, and others are still performed by humans. This piecemeal implementation of DTs often leaves practitioners wondering what roles (or functions) to allocate to DTs in a work system, and how might it impact humans. A lack of knowledge about the roles that humans and DTs play in a work system can result in significant costs, misallocation of resources, unrealistic expectations from DTs, and strategic misalignments. To alleviate this challenge, this paper answers the research question: When humans work with DTs, what types of roles can a DT play, and to what extent can those roles be automated? Specifically, we propose a two-dimensional conceptual framework, Levels of Digital Twin (LoDT). The framework is an integration of the types of roles a DT can play, broadly categorized under (1) Observer, (2) Analyst, (3) Decision Maker, and (4) Action Executor, and the extent of automation for each of these roles, divided into five different levels ranging from completely manual to fully automated. A particular DT can play any number of roles at varying levels. The framework can help practitioners systematically plan DT deployments, clearly communicate goals and deliverables, and lay out a strategic vision. A case study illustrates the usefulness of the framework.

Flexible, contingent, or'agile,' working arrangements provide workers with greater autonomy over when, where, or how to fulfill their responsibilities. In search of increased productivity and reduced absenteeism, organizations have increasingly turned to flexible work arrangements. Although access to flexible work arrangements is more prevalent among high-skilled workers, in the form of flextime or co-working, the past decade has also witnessed growth of independent contractors, digital nomadism, digitally enabled crowdwork, online freelancing, and on-demand platform labor.3 Flexible work arrangements reduce commutes and can enable workers with care-responsibilities to stay in the workforce. Younger workers also see flexibility as a top priority when considering career opportunities.2 Flexible working arrangements can also be mutually beneficial, enabling organizations to scale dynamically. Specific skill sets can be immediately accessed by turning to freelancers to fill organizational gaps. A growing number of organizations and workers rely on short-term and project-based relationships, using online platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr to connect. However, flexible work arrangements often come entwined with precarity cloaked in emancipatory narratives.5 Fixed salaries and benefits have given way to hourly rates and quantified ratings.

The technologies driving artificial intelligence are expanding exponentially, leading many technology experts and futurists to predict machines will soon be doing many of the jobs that humans do today. Some even predict humans could lose control over their future. While we agree about the seismic changes afoot, we don't believe this is the right way to think about it. Approaching the challenge this way assumes society has to be passive about how tomorrow's technologies are designed and implemented. The truth is there is no absolute law that determines the shape and consequences of innovation.

The technologies driving artificial intelligence are expanding exponentially, leading many technology experts and futurists to predict machines will soon be doing many of the jobs that humans do today. Some even predict humans could lose control over their future. While we agree about the seismic changes afoot, we don't believe this is the right way to think about it. Approaching the challenge this way assumes society has to be passive about how tomorrow's technologies are designed and implemented. The truth is there is no absolute law that determines the shape and consequences of innovation.

Representing context information associated with people and digital devices performing activities is presented using a formal systems model based on a legal but simplified version of set theory. A five set Venn diagram, the PentaVenn diagram, allows analysts to work using a graphical logic rather than with equations. Model symmetry is shown to facilitate identifying different types of context, tangible and intangible.

A large body of research describes the importance of adaptability for systems to be resilient in the face of disruptions. However, adaptive processes can be fallible, either because systems fail to adapt in situations requiring new ways of functioning, or because the adaptations themselves produce undesired consequences. A central question is then: how can systems better manage their capacity to adapt to perturbations, and constitute intelligent adaptive systems? Based on studies conducted in different high-risk domains (healthcare, mission control, military operations, urban firefighting), we have identified three basic patterns of adaptive failures or traps: (1) decompensation – when a system exhausts its capacity to adapt as disturbances and challenges cascade; (2) working at cross-purposes – when sub-systems or roles exhibit behaviors that are locally adaptive but globally maladaptive; (3) getting stuck in outdated behaviors – when a system over-relies on past successes although conditions of operation change. The identification of such basic patterns then suggests ways in which a work organization, as an example of a complex adaptive system, needs to behave in order to see and avoid or recognize and escape the corresponding failures. The paper will present how expert practitioners exhibit such resilient behaviors in high-risk situations, and how adverse events can occur when systems fail to do so. We will also explore how various efforts in research related to complex adaptive systems provide fruitful directions to advance both the necessary theoretical work and the development of concrete solutions for improving systems’ resilience.

In distributed work systems, individual users perform work for other users. A significant challenge in these systems is to provide proper incentives for users to contribute as much work as they consume, even when monitoring is not possible. We formalize the problem of designing "incentive-compatible accounting mechanisms" that measure the net contributions of users, despite relying on voluntary reports. We introduce the Drop-Edge Mechanism that removes any incentive for a user to manipulate via misreports about work contributed or consumed. We prove that Drop-Edge provides a good approximation to a user's net contribution, and is accurate in the limit as the number of users grows. We demonstrate very good welfare properties in simulation compared to an existing, manipulable mechanism. In closing, we show the power of sybil attacks in accounting mechanisms and discuss our ongoing work, including a real-world implementation and evaluation of the Drop-Edge Mechanism in a BitTorrent client.