Imagine a courtroom where an AI robot clad in a black robe and a mechanical gavel presides over a case concerning its robotic peers’ rights. While this AI in HR scenario might still be a figment of the imagination, it highlights the critical intersection between artificial intelligence and labor laws that American lawyers can’t ignore.
That’s because labor remains the biggest expense for most companies. According to Delloite, for a typical Fortune 500 company, payroll is $1 to $2 billion per year, which averages between 50% to 60% of company spending. As companies keep looking for ways to improve their bottom line in 2023, AI can be perceived as a threat to labor costs and therefore to labor laws.
There is no denying the remarkable rise in AI adoption. According to a report by Statista, the artificial intelligence market is expected to grow to over 190 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. With AI permeating every industry, labor laws are left in a tailspin as they scramble to adapt. Below are five prominent challenges that AI brings to labor laws in the US.
Classification of AI as employees or independent contractors
Can a sophisticated AI be an employee? Back in 2016, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking told the BBC, “The rise of powerful AI will be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity”. AI systems, especially those that learn and adapt, defy traditional categorizations. The challenge is to design legal frameworks that both harness AI’s potential and mitigate potential pitfalls.
Wage and Hour Laws
The Fair Labor Standards Act is the cornerstone of wage and hourly pay. With AI systems capable of performing tasks round-the-clock, they can potentially displace human workers. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2030, robots could replace 800 million jobs worldwide. Some view the challenge as preserving human employment while integrating AI into the workforce. Others aim to transform today’s economy – which is largely rooted in the principles of the industrial revolution – into one based on universal income
Workplace Discrimination and Bias
AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on. There is a pressing need to ensure that AI-driven recruitment, promotion, and workplace systems are free from bias. In 2018, Reuters reported that Amazon scrapped an AI recruitment tool because it was biased against women. The challenge is to develop AI systems that are transparent, fair, and compliant with anti-discrimination laws.
Data Privacy and Protection
The modern workforce is increasingly reliant on technology, which generates vast amounts of data. Employers are already using AI to analyze this data for performance appraisals or productivity analysis. The challenge is balancing the employer’s need for data with the employee’s right to privacy.
Liability and Accountability
Imagine an AI voice product tells a promising new employee that “it can’t concentrate because her voice was too distracting”. When an AI system makes an error or engages in unlawful behavior, who is to blame? The accountability and liability chains can get very complicated and nonlinear. Determining responsibility in such cases is a herculean task for labor laws.
Conclusion
While Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and a prominent figure in the industry, embarks on a global roadshow urging state leaders to establish rules and regulations for AI systems, we must recognize that governance is likely to lag behind this rapidly evolving economic and cultural revolution. AI will continue to transform the workforce in ways that are unparalleled. American lawyers will find themselves at the forefront of these changes as legal issues and challenges will not pause for the laws to catch up and ensure clarity and fairness in an AI-driven world. By proactively addressing these challenges, the legal community can work to ensure that the rise of AI strengthens labor rights instead of undermining them.
