Welfare service centers: Maintenance, repair, and care at the analog interfaces of the digital welfare state

Abstract

Many public administrations advocate digital services that allow for the deployment of algorithmic automation and the use of artificial intelligence. This shift has been discussed as the expansion of the digital welfare state. However, numerous citizens remain excluded from digital services provided by the state. In this context, welfare service centers have emerged as important interfaces of the digital welfare state. These service centers undergird many of the operations of digitalization as a large-scale, societal infrastructure project. In this article, we elaborate the specific characteristics of welfare service centers in Sweden, relying theoretically on interface theory and broken world thinking. Methodologically, we rely on ethnographic methods including in-depth interviews and observations. The article ultimately argues that the digital welfare state continues to be based on material inequalities and exclusions.