Analysis
By s1jobs
Artificial intelligence is not replacing humans, but it is having a profound impact on the structure of work that individuals and organisations are so far struggling to keep up with.
Many of its transformations will be for the better, but others are outpacing – or in some cases completely avoiding – existing regimes to protect people and safeguard fundamental values. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned of a time in the not-too-distant future when workers could be “hired and fired by algorithm”, while a study from Harvard Business School found 88 per cent of employers believe qualified applicants are being filtered out by AI screening software.
Campaigners are also questioning its impact on work quality as algorithms increasingly make the call on, for example, packing targets for warehouse staff or workloads for app-based couriers.
It is not about the replacement of humans by machines, but rather the treatment of humans as machines that threatens the current era of work. Decisions from algorithms should not be accepted blindly, but used as one factor in applying wisdom to decision-making.
Employers must also be wary of potential legal pitfalls. If an algorithm predicts a member of staff is planning to leave the company or is trying to get pregnant, and this information is used to make decisions on training or promotions, it could lead to claims of discrimination.
Alan Lewis, a partner at Constantine Law, believes “automated assessment” could give workers grounds for discrimination claims under the Equality Act.
READ MORE: Workers flex their muscle as costs rise
As he explains it, the use of algorithms is classed as a “provision, criteria or practice” (PCP) under the act. Employers are required to take reasonable steps to ensure PCPs do not put staff under protected categories at a disadvantage compared to other colleagues.
November’s final report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Work warned that monitoring workers and setting performance targets through algorithms is damaging employees’ mental health. It has recommended new legislation to give workers more visibility about how employers are using digital tools, including a full explanation of how any algorithms work.
The impacts of AI on work and workers are wide-ranging and go far beyond concerns about surveillance, or people being replaced by machines. The opportunities are invaluable, but they will not be realised if humans are crushed under the pressure of constant, real-time micro-management.
Search the latest jobs in Scotland at s1jobs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here