I. The myth of automated autonomy. The fantasy of full automation -- Spotty automation and less-than-human workers -- II. The myth of automation everywhere. Technology in context, technology as culture -- Automation on the ground -- III. The myth of automating everyone. Automation's racialized...

The term ‘wasta’ stems from the Arabic root for ‘middle’ or ‘medium' and describes the phenomenon of using ‘connections’ to find job, government services or other favors to circumvent bureaucracy or bypass the system as a whole. The effects of ‘wasta’ may be both positive or...