18 May 2023
The Artificial Intelligence (Regulation and Workers’ Rights) Bill was debated by Labour MP, Mick Whitley. This Bill aims to protect workers from the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace.
As many would have noticed, AI is in the news a lot at the moment. Mick Whitley introduced the AI Bill in the House of Commons on 17 May 2023, which seeks to establish a people-focused and rights-based approach, with a guarantee that workers are protected in all decisions made by employers and the government.
The Bill is being introduced amidst growing concerns that workers are increasingly being managed and monitored by AI technologies. Many feel that this is impacting independence, privacy and a right to a private life. According to government statistics, 68% of large companies in the UK and 15% of all British businesses had adopted at least one form of AI by January 2022.
It has also been emphasized, that certain strategies make workers feel vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace. An example given during the debate of the Bill, was the case involving Amazon, which was forced to scrap an AI tool that had been used to sift through the CVs of job applicants. The AI tool had learned that the majority of previous hires were males and had taught itself to downgrade applications from women. The AI Bill would also for the first time introduce a ‘right to disconnect’, allowing workers to opt out from work communications and monitoring outside of working hours.
Labour MP, Mick Whitley said:
‘‘The central purpose of the Bill is simple: it seeks to protect the rights of those who are working alongside AI in their shops, offices, factories and services, and to preserve those rights for future generations to come. Fundamentally, it is about recognising the importance of people in a world increasingly run by machines.
I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to artificial intelligence.
The Bill would strengthen existing equalities law to prevent discrimination by algorithm.
I also believe that in the workplace, as in wider society, we must guarantee that artificial intelligence works in the interests of the many, not the few. That is why, for the first time, the Bill would give workers specific protections to mitigate against the harmful application of AI.
In the meantime, I will highlight some of its key provisions. My Bill is rooted in three key principles: first, that everyone should be free from discrimination in the workplace; secondly, that workers have the right to have a say in the big decisions that affect them; and finally, that we all have a right to understand how our data is being used at work.’’
The Bill has been read for the first time and presented by Mick Whitley. A second reading is scheduled for 24 November 2023.
Read the full passage here.
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