Artificial Intelligence's Workplace Revolution: Combatting Discrimination, Promoting Diversity
Photo © Adobe Stock/Gorodenkoff
Artificial Intelligence's Workplace Revolution: Combatting Discrimination, Promoting Diversity
16–18 July 2024
The course is available in English
Introduction to the course
Thought leaders opine that advanced artificial intelligence (AI) is the most transformative event in human history. Businesses and organizations are rapidly harnessing the power of AI in the workplace to increase efficiency, productivity, customer service, quality control, and employee safety. More and more employers are using AI for employment-related tasks and decisions, from recruiting and hiring to performance measurement and promotion. AI can help create job descriptions, identify potential candidates to recruit, select among applicants for hiring, conduct initial interviews through chatbots, onboard and train new employees, measure employee productivity and performance, select among employees for promotion. Additionally, AI offers a suite of tools capable of addressing some of the most persistent challenges in achieving true workplace diversity and fostering an inclusive culture. From improving the diversity of recruitment processes to detecting and mitigating unconscious biases and enhancing equity in career development opportunities, AI's role in advancing diversity and inclusion objectives is multifaceted and profoundly impactful. While AI offers significant potential to advance human resource management and diversity and inclusion goals, its deployment is not without challenges and ethical considerations. The very technology designed to eliminate bias can, if not carefully implemented and monitored, inadvertently perpetuate or even exacerbate it. One of the primary ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI is the potential for AI algorithms to inherit biases from historical data or the biases of those who create them. If an AI system is trained on data that reflects past discriminatory hiring practices, it may continue to favour certain groups over others, despite the intention to promote diversity. Last year, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission trained its staff to identify workplace discrimination caused by AI. Meanwhile, the European Parliament provisionally approved the AI Act, including classifying AI used in employee recruitment and promotion as high risk, since "those systems may appreciably impact future career prospects and livelihoods". Because AI can preserve and multiply bias in employment decision making and in the entire employee life cycle, organizations should understand how their AI tools work and implement policies and procedures to avoid running afoul of anti-discrimination laws that prevent direct and disparate treatment and impact in the workplace.
Who attends this course?
- Human Resources Officers and Diversity & Inclusion representatives seeking to navigate the ethical challenges of AI integration. - Legal and Compliance Professionals responsible for ensuring organizational adherence to anti-discrimination laws. - Government Officials and Policymakers involved in shaping regulatory frameworks for AI governance. - Employers' and Workers' organizations seeking practical guidance to foster inclusive workplaces. - Civil society organizations committed to advocating for equitable AI practices.
Why should you join?
This three-day knowledge series explores how digital technologies, AI, and algorithmic management are used in the workplace and the risks they pose for workers’ fundamental labor rights. The webinar delves into the common ways AI is applied in recruitment, management, and control of workers, as well as productivity monitoring and evaluation. It also addresses the potential risks associated with algorithmic management that can impact workers' rights and explores opportunities for AI to promote diversity and inclusion.
More specifically, participants will be able to:
- Gain insight into the ways in which AI is used in the workplace, particularly for recruitment, management and control of workers, productivity monitoring, and evaluation.
- Learn about the risks posed by algorithmic management for workers’ fundamental rights.
- Identify instances of potential discrimination linked to the use of AI systems in the workplace, particularly concerning gender, disability, and racial discrimination.
- Explore strategies and initiatives for designing AI that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
What will you learn?
1. Ethical Considerations in AI Development and Deployment
Explore the ethical principles that should guide the design, development, and deployment of AI systems in the workplace, emphasizing values such as fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy.
2. Analyzing the Risks of Algorithmic Management for Rights at Work
Analize the risks posed by algorithmic management on key workers' rights, including privacy and data protection, non-discrimination and equality, and health and safety. We will explore issues such as AI-driven surveillance, bias and discrimination in decision-making, and the impact on workplace safety.
3. Mitigating Bias and Addressing Discrimination in AI Systems:
Discover practical techniques and methodologies for identifying and mitigating bias in AI systems, such as algorithmic debiasing, diverse training data sets, and post-deployment monitoring.
4. Reviewing Existing Regulatory Frameworks Addressing Discriminatory Effects of AI Decision-Making:
Examine current legal and regulatory measures designed to mitigate discrimination in AI-driven decision-making, exploring their effectiveness and limitations.
5. Showcasing Practical Examples of AI Supporting Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives:
Examine real-world examples where AI technologies have been leveraged to enhance diversity and inclusion efforts within organizations, illustrating the potential for AI to drive positive social impact.
What is the format?
Scheduled from July 16 to 18, 2024, this knowledge series will be conducted online, offering two live sessions of 90 minutes each per day, from 2pm CEST to 17.15 CEST. Online webinar sessions are highly participatory, featuring activities designed to foster peer-to-peer interaction and collaborative learning.
Participants will also have access to asynchronous activities through the ITCILO e-learning platform, the eCampus. This will feature webinar links and recordings, preliminary or supplementary readings, slides and other training materials and discussion forum.
Funding
Partial fellowships are available for worthy candidates from countries ODA receiving countries (Official Development Assistance). Consult the updated recipients’ list here.
If you are applying for funding, please specify so in your application form (it should also be confirmed by endorsement letter).
