An Opinion Piece: Artificial intelligence( AI) and Worker Rights
Student Name: Moises M. Class: ESL Level 8 Teacher Ben King
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In the words of Elon Musk,“ I’ m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’ t do something very foolish.” This is what he said about Artificial Intelligence( AI) to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology( MIT) ten years ago. I agree with him more than ever, since we are facing social impacts affecting minorities like unemployment and inequality. As a finance employee, I have seen how Artificial Intelligence( AI) and automation have replaced people, and it seems that this is an upward trend. According to the International Monetary Fund( IMF) almost 40 percent of global employment is exposed to some degree of automation, which means those jobs would be replaced by Artificial Intelligence( AI) in the future. To ensure that this unfavorable forecast does not become reality, policymakers should make legislation that guarantees proper labor conditions for employees in the face of Artificial Intelligence( AI). Workers in jobs with lower wages and educational requirements could be the most affected by Artificial Intelligence( AI). In most of the cases, women, African American and Hispanic workers meet these criteria. They are highly concentrated in some routine occupations within customer service, food services, office support and production work, and these positions are generally hourly. A study made by McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 29.5 percent of all hours worked could be automated by 2030. We have witnessed how Artificial Intelligence( AI) through automation has displaced factory workers in previous years in the manufacturing industry. Robots are used on production lines performing tasks such as stamping or assembling and inside warehouses doing supplying activities. Considering this case, there is a direct correlation between automation and job displacement. Many clerical or secretarial roles are considered as likely to decline rapidly because of Artificial Intelligence( AI), according to the World Economic Forum’ s Future of Jobs Report 2023. Bank tellers, cashiers, administrative secretaries, bookkeepers, data entry, material handling and other related clerks are leading this report’ s job list, confirming that the minorities described above would be the most affected.
In response to minimize these unfavorable effects, federal and state policymakers must look for proper legislation to regulate the Artificial Intelligence( AI) deployment. In this sense, some guidance and standards have been introduced but no laws yet. In 2023, during the Biden administration the Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy