Worker Insights & Charting a Better Path for Workplace AI

In Partnership on AI’s webinar, “Worker Insights & Charting a Better Path for Workplace AI” on Wednesday, October 12, PAI’s Research Scientist for the Shared Prosperity Initiative Stephanie Bell presented the results of an international study with workers on their experiences of AI, and opportunities to improve job quality and business outcomes by increasing worker voice and participation in the development and deployment of workplace AI. The full recording of the event is available on Partnership on AI’s (PAI) YouTube channel. 

Panelists Dr. Laura Nurski (Research Fellow & Program Lead, Future of Work, Bruegel, laura.nurski@bruegel.org), Christina J. Colclough (Founder, The Why Not Lab, christina@thewhynotlab.com) and Stephanie Bell (Research Scientist, PAI, stephanie@partnershiponai.org), along with moderator Katya Klinova (Head of AI, Labor and the Economy, PAI, katya@partnershiponai.org ) expanded on the main insights of the report, emphasizing:

• The way workplace AI’s organizational function and use, and the status of the workers using it—not its technology type—shapes outcomes for workers
• The importance of inclusive governance and increasing worker voice in AI development and deployment, both for improved job quality for workers and business outcomes for employers
• The common disconnects between technological needs perceived by AI creators and purchasers (e.g., senior company leadership), and the needs identified by frontline workers who use these technologies
• The need for better public education, especially for workers and managers, on workplace AI systems and their potential impacts
• The connections to current and proposed legislation related to AI & work (including the EU’s GDPR and AI Act), and recommendations for policymakers to take action on these issues.

In the Q&A session​​​​​​​, panelists unpacked the most inaccurate narratives and myths about AI and work, and their top red flags regarding AI use in the workplace.

The webinar also explored recommendations in the report to make a positive impact, and the potential to both increase prosperity enabled by AI technologies and share it more broadly. For more, please read Partnership on AI’s recent publication “AI and Job Quality: Insights From Frontline Workers”.