Workers should be front and centre of AI regulations, says ACTU

Unions will be calling for a worker-centred approach to the adoption and regulation of AI across the economy at today’s Senate Select Committee hearing on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI is already present in every industry from retail, to transport, to education, and will continue to impact workplaces and individuals who are already at risk of having their creative outputs stolen by companies and being subjected to unreasonable surveillance.

The ACTU, the SDA, the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) will give evidence to Senators on the breadth of the impact of AI on workers.

The Senate Select Committee was established to inquire into and report on the opportunities and impacts for Australia arising out of the uptake of AI technologies in Australia, including consideration of:

• recent trends and opportunities in the development and adoption of AI technologies in Australia and overseas, in particular regarding generative AI;
  • risks and harms arising from the adoption of AI technologies, including bias, discrimination and error;
  • emerging international approaches to mitigating AI risks;
  • opportunities to adopt AI in ways that benefit citizens, the environment and/or economic growth, for example in health and climate management;
  • opportunities to foster a responsible AI industry in Australia;

The committee will present its final report on or before 19 September 2024.

Quotes attributable to ACTU Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell:

“Workers must be at the centre of decision-making on the future of AI and how it is regulated.

“AI is present in nearly every industry and we need to tackle this problem head-on. We risk a future where the rights fought for over generations by working people are undermined by the adoption of new technologies.

“The risks are clear: workers are being subjected to unreasonable unblinking surveillance, being hired and fired by algorithm, having their creative output stolen by companies, and being discriminated against by bosses’ bots.

“We need to ensure that these risks are eliminated while encouraging the development of technology that uplifts working people and any productivity benefits from its adoption be shared with working people that enable it.

“There should be no decision about us without us.”