This is an AI-generated image created with Midjourney by Molly-Anna MaQuirl
For all the loudly voiced concerns expressed about it this year, Artificial Intelligence remains an exciting new frontier across all industries. How could it not be? Intelligent AI programs with the capacity to think and communicate like humans have been science-fiction staples for decades. Now, it feels like those advanced programs are just around the corner.
But as they become increasingly capable in their performance (even exceeding human capability), the implications of AI’s effect on serious concerns, such as labor and employment, demand close examination.
This article will cover AI news about the technology’s impact on the labor market and laborer’s rights. AI will undoubtedly help businesses automate tasks and boost productivity, but what effect will it have on society at large? That is the big question everybody, from AI evangelists to its naysayers, is trying to answer.
Until very recently, most people’s awareness of AI began and ended with mass media representation. In the movies, AI is depicted in a dystopian (like Skynet from Terminator) or utopian (think JARVIS from Iron Man) light. These two extremes leave very little room for nuance, and the truth is somewhere in between.
As 2023 draws to a close, public opinion on AI and employment law remains split into two general camps. Let’s take a look at their perspectives and examine their reasons for these beliefs.
On the side of AI are tech enthusiasts who believe that its potential to improve the work experience will be transformational in mainly positive ways. McKinsey & Company published a report predicting that AI would be instrumental in overcoming the expected labor shortages of the coming years.
Besides helping recruiters fill positions, AI will also help workers perform their duties more effectively. The same report estimated that by 2030, automation through AI will take over nearly 30% of tasks performed by office workers in a single working day.
Those who don’t see AI as purely a blessing hold a different perspective. To them, AI represents an existential threat that could one day render human workers obsolete. For workers engaged in repetitive tasks, AI automation is looming ominously.
There is no denying that AI will likely make certain jobs redundant and that many workers will have to adapt to a new labor market shaped by the forces of automation.
Only time will tell which of the two camps had the right idea about AI’s impact on employment in the coming years. However, it’s important to note that the budding AI revolution has one key difference from its spiritual predecessor, the Industrial Revolution.
During the Industrial Revolution, factory floors were flooded with machines that performed tasks traditionally associated with human craftspeople. The proliferation of advanced machinery triggered significant social change, forcing workers out of jobs and inspiring laborers to unionize, all while boosting production and growing capital. The people who were most affected by these changes were blue-collar workers.
Today, AI's sweeping changes are affecting labor of all kinds and on all levels. Everyone from long-haul truck drivers to research and data analysts are competing against AI programs to justify their positions in the workforce.
For what might be the first time in human history, technological disruption is class-blind to those caught up in its flux.
Some people believe that AI is a nascent phenomenon, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Many industries have already leveraged AI to improve user experience and help workers complete specific tasks. What has changed in the last year is the mainstream launch of generative AI programs like ChatGPT and MidJourney, which opened the public’s eyes to the possibilities promised by this cutting-edge technology. But AI has long been firmly enmeshed in the digital landscape.
While some positions will undoubtedly be lost due to automation, AI also creates jobs. Looking beyond the sensationalist takes from extremists, more and more people are starting to look at AI as just another element of the modern business ecosystem. A report from the Pew Research Center showed that jobs with a high degree of AI exposure are at greater risk than jobs with limited exposure.
To ensure workers aren’t exploited in the age of automation, programmers must keep ethics in mind. Furthermore, employers need to learn the best practices for working with or using AI, and governments need to proactively legislate a framework governing AI and employment law.
Change is coming to the labor market, and governments are taking note. In a landmark decision, the European Commission formulated the Draft AI Act in 2022 to provide guardrails for AI use and make it human-centric and trustworthy. The US government has also published an AI Risk Management Framework, an executive order to tackle bias and discrimination in AI applications.
Some US states are also in the process of formulating their own regulations for AI. New York’s Local Law 144 (known informally as the AI bias law) seeks to minimize the risk of AI-powered automated employment decision tools (AEDT) discriminating among potential hires because of pre-existing bias in those that created them. The New York AI employment law will potentially serve as a basis for other states to draft their own legislations.
Still, AI adoption is sure to expand. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is advising employers on how to ethically use AI instead of avoiding it all altogether.
In the coming years, workers across all industries will see their AI exposure levels steadily increase. By learning how to leverage AI’s impressive abilities to augment their productivity, workers can prepare for what’s coming. AI technology will only improve, and its applications in the workplace will only expand.
In a perfect world, repetitive and mundane tasks will be delegated to AI programs, leaving human workers free to take on more complex and fulfilling roles. This could mean improved productivity, shorter workdays, and improved work-life balance for millions of workers all over the world.
This is an AI-generated image created with Midjourney by Molly-Anna MaQuirl
For all the loudly voiced concerns expressed about it this year, Artificial Intelligence remains an exciting new frontier across all industries. How could it not be? Intelligent AI programs with the capacity to think and communicate like humans have been science-fiction staples for decades. Now, it feels like those advanced programs are just around the corner.
But as they become increasingly capable in their performance (even exceeding human capability), the implications of AI’s effect on serious concerns, such as labor and employment, demand close examination.
This article will cover AI news about the technology’s impact on the labor market and laborer’s rights. AI will undoubtedly help businesses automate tasks and boost productivity, but what effect will it have on society at large? That is the big question everybody, from AI evangelists to its naysayers, is trying to answer.
Until very recently, most people’s awareness of AI began and ended with mass media representation. In the movies, AI is depicted in a dystopian (like Skynet from Terminator) or utopian (think JARVIS from Iron Man) light. These two extremes leave very little room for nuance, and the truth is somewhere in between.
As 2023 draws to a close, public opinion on AI and employment law remains split into two general camps. Let’s take a look at their perspectives and examine their reasons for these beliefs.
On the side of AI are tech enthusiasts who believe that its potential to improve the work experience will be transformational in mainly positive ways. McKinsey & Company published a report predicting that AI would be instrumental in overcoming the expected labor shortages of the coming years.
Besides helping recruiters fill positions, AI will also help workers perform their duties more effectively. The same report estimated that by 2030, automation through AI will take over nearly 30% of tasks performed by office workers in a single working day.
Those who don’t see AI as purely a blessing hold a different perspective. To them, AI represents an existential threat that could one day render human workers obsolete. For workers engaged in repetitive tasks, AI automation is looming ominously.
There is no denying that AI will likely make certain jobs redundant and that many workers will have to adapt to a new labor market shaped by the forces of automation.
Only time will tell which of the two camps had the right idea about AI’s impact on employment in the coming years. However, it’s important to note that the budding AI revolution has one key difference from its spiritual predecessor, the Industrial Revolution.
During the Industrial Revolution, factory floors were flooded with machines that performed tasks traditionally associated with human craftspeople. The proliferation of advanced machinery triggered significant social change, forcing workers out of jobs and inspiring laborers to unionize, all while boosting production and growing capital. The people who were most affected by these changes were blue-collar workers.
Today, AI's sweeping changes are affecting labor of all kinds and on all levels. Everyone from long-haul truck drivers to research and data analysts are competing against AI programs to justify their positions in the workforce.
For what might be the first time in human history, technological disruption is class-blind to those caught up in its flux.
Some people believe that AI is a nascent phenomenon, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Many industries have already leveraged AI to improve user experience and help workers complete specific tasks. What has changed in the last year is the mainstream launch of generative AI programs like ChatGPT and MidJourney, which opened the public’s eyes to the possibilities promised by this cutting-edge technology. But AI has long been firmly enmeshed in the digital landscape.
While some positions will undoubtedly be lost due to automation, AI also creates jobs. Looking beyond the sensationalist takes from extremists, more and more people are starting to look at AI as just another element of the modern business ecosystem. A report from the Pew Research Center showed that jobs with a high degree of AI exposure are at greater risk than jobs with limited exposure.
To ensure workers aren’t exploited in the age of automation, programmers must keep ethics in mind. Furthermore, employers need to learn the best practices for working with or using AI, and governments need to proactively legislate a framework governing AI and employment law.
Change is coming to the labor market, and governments are taking note. In a landmark decision, the European Commission formulated the Draft AI Act in 2022 to provide guardrails for AI use and make it human-centric and trustworthy. The US government has also published an AI Risk Management Framework, an executive order to tackle bias and discrimination in AI applications.
Some US states are also in the process of formulating their own regulations for AI. New York’s Local Law 144 (known informally as the AI bias law) seeks to minimize the risk of AI-powered automated employment decision tools (AEDT) discriminating among potential hires because of pre-existing bias in those that created them. The New York AI employment law will potentially serve as a basis for other states to draft their own legislations.
Still, AI adoption is sure to expand. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is advising employers on how to ethically use AI instead of avoiding it all altogether.
In the coming years, workers across all industries will see their AI exposure levels steadily increase. By learning how to leverage AI’s impressive abilities to augment their productivity, workers can prepare for what’s coming. AI technology will only improve, and its applications in the workplace will only expand.
In a perfect world, repetitive and mundane tasks will be delegated to AI programs, leaving human workers free to take on more complex and fulfilling roles. This could mean improved productivity, shorter workdays, and improved work-life balance for millions of workers all over the world.
Navigating the World of Artificial Intelligence
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