AI-Pocalypse Over half of the British public are worried about the impact of AI on their jobs, according to employment unions, which want the UK government to adopt a "worker first" strategy rather than simply allowing corporations to ditch employees for algorithms.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, says it found that people are concerned about the way AI is being adopted by businesses and want a say in how the technology is used at their workplace and the wider economy.
It warns that without such a "worker-first plan", use of "intelligent" algorithms could lead to even greater social inequality in the country, plus the kind of civil unrest that goes along with that.
The TUC says it wants conditions attached to the tens of billions in public money being spent on AI research and development to ensure that workers are supported and retrained rather than deskilled or replaced.
It also wants guardrails in place so that workers are protected from "AI harms" at work, rules to ensure workers are involved in deciding how machine learning is used, and for the government to provide support for those who euphemistically "experience job transitions" as a result of AI disruption.
These are set out in a report published by the TUC, "Building a Pro-Worker AI Innovation Strategy" [PDF].
Perhaps the unions have been alarmed by reports such as the one in the Financial Times that found British companies are looking at AI as simply a way of cutting investment in staff.
Or perhaps it is recent studies showing that machine learning models appear to be automating away some entry-level roles and depriving younger workers of jobs.
Maybe it is moves such as the UK's Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Silicon Valley biz OpenAI earlier this summer to use its technology to boost Britain's public sector.
This is despite a prominent AI boffin at University College London telling The Register that: "OpenAI is an incredibly unstable company that could collapse at any time. They are just working really hard to enhance their immediate value."
OpenAI chief Sam Altman also conceded last week that the world is currently in the midst of an AI bubble, though he didn't estimate how long we might have before it bursts.
Those "AI harms" mentioned above include "inappropriate use of algorithmic management tools to monitor workers, allocate tasks, rewards and sanctions," which will have "a negative impact on staff wellbeing, productivity and industrial relations."
Such tools wouldn't necessarily have to be "intelligent" algorithms to make the workplace a misery of course. In fact, if they were AI-driven, the chances are the workers would be having to oversee the automated tools to make sure that they work properly, rather than the other way around.
But as the report states, forecasts of how AI might impact workers vary widely. Some foresee mass redundancies, while others predict only incremental shifts across industries. Some expect economy redefining boosts in productivity and new jobs, while others believe that there will be only marginal gains.
The TUC contends that rapid technological advancement only delivers widespread social progress when working people are empowered, and believes this calls for a whole-of-government approach in partnership with workers and unions.
"AI could have transformative potential – and if developed properly, workers can benefit from the productivity gains this technology may bring," says TUC Assistant General Secretary Kate Bell.
That means ensuring public money comes with strings attached, and isn't siphoned away into the pockets of billionaire tech bosses, she added, while the alternative is bleak. Left unmanaged, the machine learning revolution will likely entrench existing inequality as jobs are displaced and the AI owners get richer and richer.
Meanwhile, a study by the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS) found that giving civil service employees access to Microsoft 365 Copilot AI could indeed save them an average of 26 minutes per day on office tasks – something the software giant was no doubt pleased to see.
Then again, a recent report from MIT in the US found that 95 percent of enterprise organizations have seen little or no return from their AI projects, despite sinking between $35 and $40 billion into Generative AI initiatives. That's something for the board of directors to chew over when considering their own deployments. ®
Source: The register