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UNI Global Union this week joined the multistakeholder Partnership on AI (PAI).

PAI is dedicated to addressing a range of issues aimed at ensuring Artificial Intelligence benefits society, including how AI will affect the future world of work.

Eric Horvitz and Mustafa Suleyman, PAI’s founding co-chairs, said, “AI promises new capabilities and efficiencies, the advent of these new technologies has raised understandable questions about potential disruptions to the nature and distribution of jobs.”

As well as leading tech companies and educational institutions, a wide range of non-governmental organisations have joined the initiative, including Amnesty International, Oxfam and UNDP. However, UNI is the first union to join PAI.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Christy Hoffman said, “UNI welcomes the opportunity to give a voice to workers in the PAI. By having a seat at the table, we aim to shape the discussions around how Artificial Intelligence can be a catalyst for new jobs and better employment conditions rather than a destructive force in the hands of a few giant tech companies.

“We will take a clear message to other PAI members that in the development of AI companies and governments must take responsibility to ensure a just transition for workers in the digital economy.”

UNI is a leader on the future world of work, influencing the perspective on the digital future at the ILO, OECD, and the EU and through its relationships and agreements with multinationals across the service sectors.

UNI Global Union’s “Top 10 principles for Ethical Artificial Intelligence” provides concrete demands regarding its transparency and application in the workplace. UNI has been vocal about the ‘urgency of now’ regarding Artificial Intelligence and ensuring that workers share in the benefits of AI, rather than becoming its victims.