'Workers must be at the centre of decision-making on the future of AI'
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is calling on the government to ensure that workers are not left behind amid the development of regulations surrounding artificial intelligence.
"Workers must be at the centre of decision-making on the future of AI and how it is regulated," ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell in a statement. "There should be no decision about us without us."
Mitchell made the remarks in the wake of growing adoption of AI tools in Australian workplaces. Research from Deloitte revealed that employees' usage of generative AI has grown to 38%, a nearly 20% increase since last year.
According to the ACTU official, the widespread adoption of AI can risk the rights fought by previous generations of working people.
"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," he said.
"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."
ACTU's call came ahead of its appearance at the Senate Select Committee hearing on Adopting Artificial Intelligence. The committee aims to look at the opportunities and impacts from the growing adoption of AI, particularly generative AI tools, in the workplace.
Its final report is set for release on or before September 19, according to the Australian Parliament's website.
