Social dialogue critical to ensure positive outcomes of AI in the workplace

BRUSSELS (ILO News) - The use of AI in the workplace has implications for both job quantity and job quality, the ILO has told an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on Employment and Social Affairs. Hosted by the European Parliament, the Meeting focussed on Human work in the digital age - Artificial Intelligence, new forms of working, and work-related stress.

"The outcomes of the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace can be both positive or negative and hinge on the purpose, design and control of such technology," said Nuno Cunha, Senior Specialist Labour Market Institutions at the ILO.

Technology is changing how, where, and under which conditions work is done, whether AI technology is used to automate routine tasks, or to replace or augment some management functions, such as hiring, monitoring or supervising workers in their daily tasks.

Algorithmic systems are being used in different ways, for instance in recruitment or to manage workers in their daily tasks. Through tracking devices on workers' computers, phones or other machinery, or wearable technology such as badges, some employers collect continuous data on workers' activities to inform decisions about task distribution as well as evaluate worker performance.

"Robust social dialogue is critical during all stages of the technology design process, from development to deployment," Cunha underlined. Social dialogue can address questions about the purpose of the system, its design, the need for safeguards, including with respect to workers' data privacy, and feedback mechanisms.

During the meeting, Members of the European Parliament and National Parliaments discussed how to adapt the EU digital and social acquis to new forms of work, considering artificial intelligence and work-related stress.

At its 114th Session in June the International Labour Conference will hold a second and last discussion on a standard-setting item on decent work in the platform economy. It is the first global standard-setting that includes a discussion on the impact on working conditions and access to work of automated systems based on algorithms.

During the discussion the importance of global standards was also remarked, considering not only the global impact on workers' rights, but also on its potential to increase legal certainty for businesses who increasingly operate in different markets.