“The only antidote is knowledge”: Fonarcom focuses on work and Artificial Intelligence in Florence

"Protections in the employment relationship, from the Statute to the new frontiers of Artificial Intelligence": this is the name of the meeting

FLORENCE – How to face the challenges posed by the use of artificial intelligence in working relationships? What until recently was a future only imagined by science fiction writers, today is a reality that raises relevant questions in countless sectors, which legal practitioners and observers of the evolution of the world of work do not they can ignore, especially in the relationship between worker and company.

THE ONLY ANTIDOTE IS KNOWLEDGE

To avoid abuses and gray areas and protect employers and employees,“the only antidote is knowledge”, and for this reason the interprofessional fund FONARCOM has called the experts of the study center ‘IlLavoroContinua’, including specialists and legal experts, gathered to take stock of the regulations and how they try to regulate this “meteorite of novelties”, including practical examples and jurisprudence. “Protections in the employment relationship, from the Statute to the new frontiers of Artificial Intelligence”: this is the name of the meeting held this morning at the Fortezza Da Basso in Florence as part of the 15th edition of the Labor Festival.

“AI IS IN EVERYDAY LIFE”< /strong>

Attention is directed towards the new EU regulation, the so-called “Ai Act”, and the national bill being developed by the Italian Government, over which there is a certain “concern that the legislator, through legislation, may be late in protecting workers”, reports Andrea Cafà president of Fonarcom and Cifa. For this reason, according to Cafà, “an intervention by the social partners is needed, which through national and company collective bargaining must regulate within the employment relationship what must be the correct use of artificial intelligence”. In addition to this, it is also necessary to “train union and employer leaders because they must begin to understand how technology must be managed”.

AN AD HOC FIGURE IN THE WORKPLACE

One of the proposals that emerged during the meeting is to establishan ad hoc figure in the workplace. “I propose to resurrect what was put aside with the simplification decree, i.e. the safety programmatic document, dedicate it to artificial intelligence and highlight a new figure: that of the worker manager for artificial intelligence, as well as provided for the safety of working environments”, is the idea of Antonino Alessi, president of the Order of Labor Consultants of Palermo. An active subject, in short, “who dialogues with the entrepreneur to anticipate critical issues and find solutions for the best company productivity”, because otherwise “the risk is that we limit ourselves, as required by law, only to informing”. Instead, according to the expert, we need to take inspiration from other realities, such as Germany, “where we speak with workers in advance in order to share solutions and probably anticipate critical issues and therefore give the company the maximum potential”.

THE EXAMPLE OF RIDERS

Giuseppe Tango, labour judge at the Court of Palermo, instead gave the example of riders, a category that summarizes well the transition in the world of work from the traditional categories “of the Fordist economy to the so-called new economy, the so-called economy of small jobs”. In this sense “what Bauman had already predicted about society has happened: even work has now become liquid, that is, devoid of certainties”. Here the challenge of the jurisprudence “was to first qualify these new workers and then prepare effective protections”.

THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

Tiziana Orrù, president, spoke about use of social networks, use of personal data and ethical issues, security and transparency posed by the use of new technologies in the workplace. of the Labor section of the Court of Rome, with particular reference to the limits imposed by the Workers’ Statute and the EU Regulation contained in the 2016 GDPR regarding the protection of personal data in the case of automated decision-making processes. In short, what emerges in the picture is a need for organic rules that protect workers in a clear and immediate way, without however demonizing the tool itself: artificial intelligence in fact “like every evolution is a positive tool, but it must be at the service of man, it must not dominate man. This is why the ethical aspect cannot be an accessory element, but must be a founding element of artificial intelligence”, concludes the president of Fonarcom Andrea Cafà.