The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said that the Government’s planned approach to the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) will “dilute” existing protections. The TUC, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, also called for human review of workplace decisions reached via algorithm.
Last month’s white paper, which proposed that the regulation of AI should be spread across existing bodies rather than have a new watchdog, was “vague” and offered “flimsy” guidance, the TUC said . With “no additional capacity or resource to cope with rising demand”, there are also questions about how effective regulation can be, it argued.
Speaking to the BBC, Mary Towers — an employment rights policy officer for the TUC — said that they had already found AI tools undertaking traditionally human tasks across recruitment, management and even HR functions such as disciplinary measures and firings.
"We found evidence of AI-powered tools being used in all the different ways in which you would expect a human manager to carry out functions at work," she said.
AI tools that track worker performance and time usage are especially problematic, if automated decisions are made on who to let go, the TUC says. AI could, it argues, “set unrealistic targets that then result in workers being put in dangerous situations that impact negatively on their both physical health and mental well-being”.
To defend workers rights from the challenges of AI, the TUC believes firms should be obliged to reveal how AI is being used. It says any decisions made via such means should be subject to human review to ensure that employees can challenge decisions made by an algorithm.
A Government spokesperson told the BBC that the TUC’s critique of its white paper was “wrong.”
“AI is set to drive growth and create new highly-paid jobs throughout the UK, while allowing us to carry out our existing jobs more efficiently and safely,” the spokesperson said.
"That is why we are working with businesses and regulators to ensure AI is used safely and responsibility in business settings."
