Union warns of 'worse than useless’ AI regulation policy
Government plans to regulate the rapid expansion of AI has been blasted as ‘bewildering’ and ‘worse than useless’ by a union branch representing tech workers.
The Union of Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW) has expressed concerns over a government white paper launched to regulate Artificial Intelligence, and has highlighted the risks it could pose to UK workers and consumers.
Raising fears over the long-term impact of AI on public life, UTAW said the policy would ensure workers ‘continue to see their rights and living standards eroded’. The union has argued that the proposals show an inability of the government to respond to the emerging impact of new technologies.
UTAW Chair, Matt Buckley, said the proposal was, ‘little more than a protracted defence of government inaction’.
“Given the level of misguided zealotry around AI in recent months it’s not difficult to see why the government would want to build on it as a last ditch attempt to present itself as future-facing and supportive of innovation,” Buckley said.
“In reality, this white paper will ensure UK workers continue to see their rights and living standards eroded in the name of progress that risks doing more harm than good.”
Calls for stricter protection for workers against the threat of AI to workers’ rights and in their use at work continue to be made by unions. With a recent example of jobs being put at risk when BT announced it would cut 55,000 jobs, with up to a fifth to be replaced by technologies including AI.
The policy paper, titled a ‘pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’ pushes for an ‘outcomes-oriented approach’, with the government stating that AI will play a central part in enabling the UK to become a ‘science and technology superpower’ by 2030.
They say the proposals work to ensure a future AI-enabled country will be complemented by AI, rather than disrupted by it.
However, UTAW, a branch of the Communication Workers Union, warned that the policy risks pushing the UK behind when it comes to global regulations on AI. This could risk the country becoming a ‘playground for risky applications of these new technologies’. The EU is already two years into the process of establishing the AI Act which would introduce controls to target ‘high-risk’ and ‘low-risk’ appropriately.
The union added that, while there is optimism to be had in the benefits of AI tools, for example in healthcare, they emphasised that a failure to respond to the risks could create long-term negative impacts that, ‘far outweighs any opportunities’.
(Photo credit: Flickr / Creative Commons)
Hannah Davenport is trade union reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward’s trade union reporting is supported by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust
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