What is pro-worker AI?

pro-worker AI (noun)

Generative artificial intelligence that complements humans and augments their skills.

Artificial intelligence will have a substantial impact on the future of work. So far, automation efforts seem likely to displace skilled workers and diminish worker voice, according to MIT professors Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson.

In a 2023 policy memo, the three professors — who lead the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative — argued that the nature of AI’s impact on work and inequality is not inevitable; it depends on how society develops and shapes the technology. Used correctly, generative AI could create and support new occupational tasks and new capabilities for workers, especially for people without a four-year college degree.

“If AI tools can enable teachers, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical technicians, electricians, plumbers, and other modern craft workers to do more expert work, this can reduce inequality, raise productivity, and boost pay by leveling workers up,” they wrote.

The memo suggested policy changes, including updating Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules to limit worker surveillance, increasing funding for research on human-complementary technology, and equalizing the tax rates for employing workers and owning equipment and algorithms.

AI needs to be more ‘pro-worker.’ These 5 policies can help