Efforts directed towards the artificial intelligence sector are increasing every day. Technology giant Microsoft and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) announced a new partnership to discuss how artificial intelligence can predict workers’ needs and how it can be developed and implemented to meet these needs.
According to the AFL-CIO, the goals of the agreement include sharing knowledge about artificial intelligence trends among union leaders and workers, incorporating workers’ insights and expertise in the development of artificial intelligence, and helping to shape public policies that support the technology skills and needs of workers playing critical roles.
Microsoft President Brad Smith explained that the agreement involves collaborating with union leaders to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits workers. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler sees Microsoft’s commitment to impartiality and the expertise of workers as a sign of an era of artificial intelligence that could encourage productive partnerships between workers and employers. In 2022, Microsoft signed a similar agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), recognized as a media union focusing on the organization and collective bargaining rights of workers at Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft invested $13 billion in the non-profit American AI company OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, and owns 49% of the company’s shares, yet it claims no voting rights or control over the company. Microsoft continues to work in this field by developing Azure, a productive artificial intelligence platform that benefits from OpenAI’s GPT products and expands its functionality.
Workers from different sectors continue to express their concerns about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on their jobs. During the summer, Hollywood actors took a significant step by going on strike to protest the offer of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry. The offer advocated for the scanning of artists in the background, compensation for only one day, and the complete ownership rights of the scanned images and likenesses to be granted to the companies.