Could the AI system affect employment conditions, labor rights, or job opportunities?
Could the AI system affect employment conditions, labor rights, or job opportunities?
- Could the use of your AI system affect the safety conditions of employees?
- Does the system’s design or implementation involve exploitative labor practices and surveillance of employees?
- Could the AI system create the risk of de-skilling of the workforce? (skilled people being replaced by AI systems)
- Could the system’s outputs or actions limit fair competition or disadvantage certain businesses?
- Does the system hinder workers' ability to organize, negotiate, or take collective action to protect their interests?
- Could the system indirectly encourage or support child labor or unsafe work practices for young people?
If you answered Yes then you are at risk
If you are not sure, then you might be at risk too
Recommendations
- Inform and consult impacted workers and their representatives (e.g., trade unions, work councils) before implementing the AI system. Foster an open dialogue to address concerns and ensure transparency.
- Conduct impact assessments to understand how the AI system affects human work, including safety conditions, worker rights, and labor practices. Use these assessments to develop appropriate risk mitigation strategies.
- Provide comprehensive training for workers to understand the AI system’s functionalities, limitations, and operational scope. Equip them with safety instructions, particularly when interacting with AI-driven machinery or robots.
- Ensure that the AI system’s design and implementation uphold fair labor standards and avoid exploitative practices. Include safeguards to prevent indirect encouragement of child labor or unsafe work conditions.
- Maintain clear documentation and transparency for businesses deploying your AI system. If you are a third-party provider, supply accessible and understandable information regarding the potential risks of the system to your customers.
- Consider proactive measures to upskill or reskill employees whose roles may be affected by the system, ensuring they can transition to new or augmented roles supported by AI.
- Regularly evaluate the system’s impact on competition, employee safety, and workplace dynamics. Adjust system features or provide additional guidance as needed to ensure compliance with fair labor and safety standards.
- Engage with regulatory bodies and labor rights organizations to ensure the AI system complies with laws and ethical guidelines related to worker protection and well-being.
Interesting resources/references
- Right to work, No slavery (Universal Declaration of Human Rights), article 16 Freedom to conduct a business, article 28 Right of collective bargaining and action, article 5 Prohibition of slavery and forced labor, Article 31 Fair and just working conditions, article 32 Prohibition of child labor and protection of young people at work (Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union).