White House Bares Workforce Safety Nets on AI Risks

The Biden-Harris administration is urging businesses to adopt the eight principles that the Department of Labor has established to protect workers from the risks of artificial intelligence adoption. The White House tasked the department to create the guideposts to pursue the goals of President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. 

One of the guidelines stipulates that adopting AI systems in the workplace should not violate workers’ rights and benefits, such as the freedom to organize and health and safety privileges. Microsoft and the job website Indeed have committed to adopting the principles, WhiteHouse .gov reported Thursday. 

Other AI safety nets for workers that the Labor Department suggested include the ethical development of the technology, ensuring transparency in its use, deploying AI to enable workers and responsible handling of workers’ AI data. 

The Biden-Harris administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights has indicated the risks of data-generating employee performance tracking tools on workers’ mental health, as well as their potential for misuse in workplace discrimination. In May 2023, the Office of Science and Technology Policy announced its plan to request industry inputs on automated worker surveillance and management following the growth of automated systems that monitor, manage and evaluate employees.