Vigilance on AI essential to keep workplaces safe, says union leader

The dramatic developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are challenging the ability of legislators all over the world to keep up but a key principle is that people must be control of workplace machines rather than the other away around, according to European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) general secretary Esther Lynch.

Speaking at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference in Kilkenny, Ms Lynch said many workers are already being “monitored to within an inch of their lives” but now face a requirement for even greater engagement with technology in the workplace.

The EU has made some attempt to regulate the growing use of AI but, she says, legislation at that level can take up to six years to be developed, passed and fully implemented and so, she argues, there is a need to act now in order to provide some back safeguards for workers in Ireland and across Europe.

“One thing is that we’re saying to the Commission and the European Parliament is that no patent should be given in Europe for a machine that isn’t capable of being controlled by the user.

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“Even Microsoft, I think, are now acknowledging that AI needs guardrails. Almost everybody is acknowledging it.

“One of those guardrails for the workplace is that you need to be sure that machine is safe, you need to be sure about its decision-making structure, you need to retain the element of human control.”

This, she said, is one of the key challenges currently facing the European trade union movement and the concern among delegates at the Ictu conference was clear as speakers from across a range of industries backed a National union of Journalists motion that raised the potential for machines to “positively transform the world of work,” but also to “undermine the dignity, creativity and independence of workers.”

The motion, which described the EU framework adopted recently as “inadequate” and called for the adoption of “legislative protections” was backed by delegates.

Ms Lynch was appointed as general secretary of the ETUC – a confederation of 93 union organisations representing 45 million people across 41 countries – late last year and made international headlines in February when she was expelled from Tunisia after speaking at a demonstration there about changes to the minimum wage.

She says she had genuinely feared for her safety after having been given 24 hours to leave the country when the president, Kais Saied, took exception to her remarks.

“It was a very respectful speech but the president decided I had threatened national sovereignty and I had 24 hours to leave the country or face the consequences.

“What happened to me it was very, very threatening and sinister but all very, very polite in the sense of I wasn’t beaten up or I wasn’t anything like that although I think I would have been if I hadn’t left, I think they would have liked to have made an example of me.

“The consular services were hugely helpful and they told me to be very, very careful, to make sure I left. But one of the issues was I didn’t actually know when the 24 hours started so I wasn’t even sure when I arrived at the airport that they would let me leave.

Officials from the local union federation accompanied her in an attempt to ensure her safety and in the end she was allowed to leave. But “yes,” she says, “it was frightening”.

“The worrying thing for me now,” she adds, “is that the EU has done a deal with Tunisia that includes financial support. But it can’t be unconditional financial support. It needs to say you need to protect human rights in your country; you need to stop putting trade unionists in prison.”