Microsoft and AFL-CIO Partner to Shape AI Development and Policy for Workers
Summary:
Microsoft and the AFL-CIO have collaborated to explore the potential of AI in forecasting and addressing worker needs, integrating their perspectives in AI development, and shaping public policy to support their tech skills and requirements. This move follows Microsoft's similar deal with the CWA focused on defense of workers' rights at Activision Blizzard. This comes amidst concerns over AI's impact on employment, as seen in various sectors, notably the entertainment industry and IBM's recent projections of job redundancies. Despite reservations, AI continues to dominate the tech arena as embraced by Microsoft through its heavy investment in OpenAI and the creation of its generative AI platform, Azure.
In a significant move, technology behemoth Microsoft and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) have forged a new alliance to contemplate how artificial intelligence (AI) can forecast worker requirements and involve them in its creation and utilization. The AFL-CIO stated that the deal's objectives encompass sharing knowledge on AI advancements among labor heads and employees, integrating worker insights and proficiency in AI creation, and guiding in shaping public policies that support the technology skill set and needs of frontline workers. Brad Smith, the President of Microsoft, described the agreement as a joint venture with labor chiefs to make AI work favorably for employees. Liz Shuler, the President of AFL-CIO, appreciates Microsoft's nonpartisan framework and recognition of workers’ proficiency, indicating that the AI epoch can forge constructive labor-management collaborations.
Microsoft formed a similar pact with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2022, with a primary focus on defending workers' rights to form unions and negotiate collectively at Activision Blizzard. Microsoft was then in the final stages of having the video game manufacturer under its wing. Likewise, Microsoft has invested a staggering $13 billion in OpenAI, the US non-profit AI entity that produced ChatGPT through its profit-oriented arm. Although Microsoft holds a 49% stake, it has no voting powers and insists it doesn’t control the company. Microsoft has also unveiled a generative AI platform called Azure which utilizes OpenAI's GPT products to enhance its functionality.
On a related note, Microsoft is under an antitrust investigation in the UK concerning its OpenAI deal’s organization. Workers from diverse sectors have been apprehensive about AI's possible repercussions on their professions. In the entertainment industry, Hollywood actors protested by striking during summer against the AI-proposal by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) revolving around the scanning and one-day compensation of background performers with companies owning complete rights to the scan, image, and likeness. The rise of generative AI has sparked worries about a considerable overhaul in the job market. IBM forecasted in May that AI could make approximately 7800 jobs redundant at the company within the next five years. SpaceX and xAI CEO Elon Musk went a step further, forecasting that AI could completely upturn the modern workforce.
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Published At
12/13/2023 3:50:08 PM
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