AIDA

“Job Killer Artificial Intelligence (AI)?: With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating that up to 60 % of all jobs in industrial countries will be impacted by rising AI technology, the fourth industrial revolution is disrupting the European job market. However, while AI poses dangers to some jobs, it certainly has benefits for others. How…

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN A DIGITAL AGE

“Job Killer Artificial Intelligence (AI)?: With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating that up to 60 % of all jobs in industrial countries will be impacted by rising AI technology, the fourth industrial revolution is disrupting the European job market. However, while AI poses dangers to some jobs, it certainly has benefits for others. How can the EU facilitate a smooth transition into the era of AI for workers?”

Ace Csellak (NL), Summerjay DuVall (NL), Neil Mewa (NL), Rani Renken (NL), Willem Schuerman (NL), Imme Vellenga (NL), Cilayni Wooter (NL), Marieke de Weerd (NL, Chairperson)

The European Youth Parliament aims to find a good balance between the benefits of the use of AI in the workforce and the mental, physical, and financial well-being of human employees, by emphasising the importance of knowledge, research, and education, all while embracing technological progress.

The above is decided upon because

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers numerous benefits, like creating new jobs and increasing labour productivity by 11-37%, with the EU having the potential of becoming a global leader in its development,
  2. 60% of jobs are expected to be influenced by AI, half of them negatively, with the risk of AI  replacing up to the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs on a global scale,
  3. High income countries are more likely to be significantly affected by AI, yet they stand to gain more benefits from it compared to low income countries, potentially worsening the global digital divide and income disparities,
  4. AI’s local impact is disproportionately distributed,  with college-educated individuals and women facing the heaviest exposure, potentially exacerbating labour income inequality,
  5. 42%  of EU citizens lack basic digital skills needed for AI-related jobs, which creates issues of mismatches and skill shortages and reinforces social inequality due to deficiencies in education and skills,
  6. Implementing AI into the workforce goes hand in hand with challenges regarding safety, security, transparency, privacy, liability and responsibility, leaving the EU with the task of ensuring ethical use;

To that end, the European Youth Parliament

  1. Acknowledges the positive impacts of AI, while emphasising the need to achieve a balance between the use of AI for economic prosperity and the wellbeing of people;
  2. Urges the European Commission to establish regulations indicating which fields of work permit AI implementation and under what conditions, deciding that:
    1. jobs that concern a significant amount of emotional connection cannot be replaced by AI,
    2. hazardous occupations are encouraged to be replaced by AI, 
    3. employers cannot fire their employees solely due to AI implementation, without valid reason compliant with EU labour laws;
  3. Appeals to companies to implement a support-system for employees that have been replaced by AI, in which they:
    1. provide their replaced employees with compensation pay and opportunities to retrain if necessary,
    2. provide counselling through mental health professionals,
    3. facilitate opportunities like volunteering, internships or physical leisure activities to smoothen the transition into a new job;
  4. Requests Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations, such as “AI4ALL”, to further research socio-economic effects of implementing AI in the workforce, focussing on gender, education, religion and age; 
  5. Asks Member States and NGOs to share research on AI aiming to narrow the digital divide within and between Member States to ultimately ensure equal access to the job market;
  6. Encourages the European Commission to fund target-oriented educational programmes across all Member States that empower people of all ages and of different socio-economic backgrounds to work with AI; 
  7. Calls upon the European Commission to enforce existing regulations, such as the EU Directive 20021, to ensure transparency and safety in workplaces affected by AI; 
  8. Supports the European Cybercrime Centre “EC3” in their approach to combat data leaks caused by black-hat hackers, addressing the public fear of data insecurity around AI.

Annex: Definitions belonging to the Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on  Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA)

For the purposes of this resolution:

  1. The Global Digital Divide refers to the unequal access to any form of digital technology, resulting in inequity of access to information and resources.
  2. Hazardous occupations are defined as jobs that are associated with danger and pose a risk for personal injury or illness.
  3. EU labour laws mean EU laws that define the rights and obligations of workers and employers, covering the main two areas of working conditions and the policies around informing and consulting workers, stating that termination without a legally valid reason is not allowed and can be penalised.
  4. A black-hat hacker refers to a person who hacks for personal gain.
  1.  Directive that obliges employers to inform their employees about any technological implementation and advancements in the workplace. ↩︎