There is overwhelming public support for protections to address the risks and maximise the benefits of artificial intelligence in our workplaces, a new EU opinion poll shows.
A European Commission survey of over 1,000 people in Ireland (26,400 across the EU27) about their attitudes to the use of artificial Intelligence and the future of work found that while two-thirds (66%) believe new technologies, including AI, are having a "totally positive" impact on their current job, they are broadly supportive of rules for its use in the workplace.
- 84% (82% EU average) say it is important to have rules which protect workers’ privacy;
- 80% (77% EU average) say it is important to have rules which involve workers and their representatives in the design and adoption of new technologies;
- 77% (75% EU average) say it is important to have rules which enforce more transparency in the use of digital technologies to handle HR decision-making;
- 76% (74% EU average) say it is important to have rules prohibiting fully automated decision-making processes;
- 76% (72% EU average) say it is important to have rules limiting the automated monitoring of employees.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy said:
"The poll sends a strong message to the Irish government and European Commission about the appetite for protections on the use of AI in the workplace to ensure AI delivers for workers as much as for business.
People in general and trade unions in particular are not looking to hold back the tide of progress. Most acknowledge the potential of AI for improving their job and workplace when used in the right way. In the same way that EU legislation sets minimum standards for occupational health and safety, new rules are needed to set European minimum standards for the use of AI in our workplaces.
Irishwoman and leader of the European trade union movement, ETUC general secretary Esther Lynch said:
"The message from the public is clear: AI must be introduced into our workplaces in a way that respects workers’ rights and the human in control principle. We saw what happened in platform companies when AI was deployed without safeguards: a lack of transparency which led to exploitation and discrimination.
"Instead let’s follow the evidence which shows that AI has a positive effect when it is introduced through collective bargaining with trade unions. That would not only ensure that workers’ rights are respected, but also that workers receive the right training to maximise its benefits.
"The European Commission must act on its own research and bring forward a directive on AI in the world of work immediately as part of the quality jobs package.
This also shows that, contrary to what corporate lobbyists have been claiming, the public still very much want the EU to bring forward legislation that addresses the problems they are facing.
