In this episode of Real Economy, we’re asking what AI means for the world of work. Might it make those tricky tedious tasks easier, or is it actually coming for your job? And if you’re not in the firing line just yet, could you be working next to a bot sometime soon?
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00:00 Some of the options that you can do.
00:03 Things are going to change.
00:04 The ways we work, the tasks we do are going to change.
00:08 I think workers are overly worried about AI.
00:10 I don't think AI is coming to take their jobs.
00:14 Right now, there's a lot of talk about artificial intelligence.
00:17 But setting aside the sci-fi scare stories,
00:20 AI-based systems are rapidly reshaping Europe's economy.
00:25 So in this episode, we're asking what
00:27 AI means for the world of work.
00:29 Might it make those tricky, tedious tasks easier?
00:32 Or is it actually coming for your job?
00:34 And if you're not in the firing line just yet,
00:37 will you be working next to a bot sometime soon?
00:40 Welcome to Real Economy.
00:42 Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace.
00:51 In a recent report, around 75% of the firm's questions
00:55 said they plan to adopt AI-powered systems by 2027.
00:59 That obviously brings opportunities, but also risks.
01:03 In a moment, we'll see how AI-powered tech
01:06 is revolutionising jobs here in the Netherlands.
01:08 But before all that, here's our Crash Course.
01:11 In the future, AI will perform many tasks
01:19 currently done by humans.
01:20 It's already chipping away at certain types of work.
01:24 Right now, some tasks linked to admin and clerical jobs
01:27 look very vulnerable.
01:29 But while AI will certainly displace jobs,
01:31 most experts believe it will create new ones.
01:34 So what might the future workplace look like?
01:37 AI is expected to boost productivity
01:39 by removing mundane tasks.
01:42 But workers will have to adapt and upskill
01:44 to this new reality.
01:46 AI-powered algorithms already monitor employee performance
01:52 and could be used in the future to hire and fire staff.
01:55 That raises issues around transparency,
01:59 accountability and fairness in the workplace.
02:03 The future depends on how AI systems are deployed
02:06 and the worker protections that are put in place.
02:08 Dutch supermarket Picnic is attempting to revolutionise
02:16 the online grocery sector.
02:18 Highly automated centres like this one in Utrecht
02:21 are full of lots of AI tech.
02:23 The firm says that enables it to deliver food fresher,
02:26 faster and cheaper,
02:28 a clear edge in a highly competitive industry.
02:31 In addition, Picnic says its adoption of AI
02:34 has created lots of skilled new jobs
02:36 while removing much of the hard graft
02:38 done by workers in hubs like this.
02:40 AI creates an opportunity for many, many people
02:45 that there are new jobs that don't exist currently
02:48 that they can do in the future.
02:50 This is about creative work,
02:51 but also technology takes over the repetitive work
02:54 and the hard work.
02:55 Picnic says its tech and business model
02:58 allow it to be more sustainable.
03:00 The supermarket already delivers for free
03:02 in fully electric vehicles,
03:05 but data-driven analysis to cut down on food
03:07 and packaging waste are also central to its operation.
03:11 A service like Picnic can operate
03:14 in a very sustainable way,
03:15 but this goes a step further
03:17 where we are not only with good forecasting
03:20 make our service and our operations sustainable,
03:23 but also our suppliers.
03:24 Used well, AI potentially offers big benefits,
03:28 but what happens when the tech ends up
03:30 invading our every moment?
03:32 Joseph is a bicycle courier
03:35 for a leading on-demand delivery service in Amsterdam.
03:39 He says he's fed up of constantly being monitored
03:41 by the company while on shift.
03:45 They track everything that we're doing
03:47 whilst we're at work.
03:48 They can see if we stop somewhere for five minutes
03:51 and they could ask questions
03:52 about why are you taking so long
03:54 when you're just simply having to do things
03:56 that you have to do whilst at work.
03:58 Dutch unions agree,
04:01 saying more should be done to rein in delivery firms,
04:03 especially the use of AI algorithms
04:05 in the bid to improve productivity.
04:08 We see a lot of problems as a union for workers.
04:11 Wages are low, there's no security,
04:13 and there's no safety.
04:15 And for instance, in some cases,
04:17 bonuses are being taken away
04:18 if a rider doesn't deliver at a given time.
04:22 This really leads to unsafe situations,
04:25 and this I think should be made illegal by law.
04:28 One concern is that AI will lead to more,
04:30 not less precarious work in the so-called gig economy.
04:34 I want to feel that I can go to the toilet,
04:38 eat some food, change my clothes
04:40 when my clothes are wet through
04:41 from the horrible weather that we have sometimes.
04:44 And I want to feel like I'm not going to be punished for that,
04:46 but I don't even know what's happening with the algorithm.
04:49 How to reap the benefits of AI
04:53 while ensuring fairness, inclusion and safety at work.
04:56 Just one of the many questions experts and policy makers
04:59 tried to answer at this year's recent
05:01 EU Social Forum in Brussels.
05:04 To know more, I spoke to the EU's chief
05:07 for jobs and social rights, Nicola Schmidt.
05:11 Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies,
05:14 it's disrupting labour markets.
05:17 What's the European Commission doing
05:19 to make sure workers' rights are protected?
05:22 What is important is that we do not hamper
05:25 this technological change,
05:27 but we make sure that we are identifying
05:30 the measures we need to protect workers.
05:33 The first important directive we are working on
05:36 is the protection of platform workers,
05:38 because they are directly affected by algorithmic management.
05:44 And we are now pushing very much
05:46 for the adoption of this directive,
05:48 which on the one hand gives guarantees to protect workers
05:52 in the context of algorithmic management,
05:54 but also to protect them in terms of social rights,
05:59 social protection rights, health and so on.
06:02 In addition to its platform directive,
06:03 the EU is finalising its AI Act.
06:06 That seeks to create the world's first rulebook for such tech.
06:10 Those working on better global regulations
06:13 say good governance of AI is needed now.
06:16 What we see at this moment is that AI looks very much
06:19 like a car without brakes and without seatbelts,
06:22 being driven by someone without a driver's licence.
06:25 And if we let things going as they are now,
06:28 I'm afraid that the benefits are for those
06:31 which are already now benefiting from AI,
06:33 which are the big tech and the multi-millionaires of this world.
06:37 Another top topic was training and improving digital skills.
06:41 In the future, 90% of jobs will need them.
06:45 Right now, more than a third of the EU's labour force
06:47 lack what's required.
06:49 One Nobel Prize-winning economist says workers should try to adapt.
06:55 They should try and find out what's going on in their company
06:58 and find out how they can train themselves
07:00 in the direction of the new technology, work with it,
07:03 and they'll feel much more satisfaction.
07:05 We have to create a real mindset of lifelong learning,
07:10 of people knowing that they have to be retrained,
07:14 they have to be reskilled, they have to be upskilled,
07:16 not just with the risk that they lose their job,
07:19 but with the guarantee that they will find another job.
07:22 There are clearly a lot of challenges,
07:24 but there are also opportunities with this technology.
07:27 Where do you stand in the whole debate?
07:30 I am not a techno-pessimist.
07:32 We can have a better world thanks to technology.
07:35 We can have better work organisation,
07:38 taking away from people the repetitive or tedious work,
07:43 but this means that we have to keep control.
07:46 It's not about predicting the future or fearing about the future,
07:50 it's finally to shape the future.
07:52 That's what we have to do.
07:54 Commissioner, thank you.
07:55 Thank you.
07:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]