Microsoft Corporation has announced a groundbreaking alliance with the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations. This partnership will investigate and influence the integration of artificial intelligence in the workplace. This will ensure AI meets the needs of workers, and have an impact on public policies.
This groundbreaking collaboration between an industry giant and a major union aims to start a conversation about artificial intelligent. The emphasis is on predicting worker requirements and incorporating their viewpoints into the process of creating and implementing artificial-intelligence technology. This partnership has three main goals: to share the latest advances in artificial intelligence with workers and labor leaders, to integrate worker experience in the development of AI and to influence public policy to promote the technological abilities of frontline workers.
This alliance is expanding on Microsoft's previous agreements that include a framework of neutrality for worker organization by AFL-CIO affiliated unions. In the context of the agreement's particular feature, it is stressed that a shared commitment to respecting the rights of employees to organize or to join unions as well as to developing constructive interactions between management & labor. This measure is intended to ensure that technological breakthroughs, such as artificial intelligent, do not undermine the rights of employees but instead benefit them at a time of rapid technological change.
Microsoft will train employees and students on artificial intelligence in accordance with the terms of this agreement. Microsoft's AI experts will guide sessions that begin in winter 2024. These seminars will provide insights into artificial intelligence's workings, its future trajectory and the challenges it presents. Microsoft will also make it easier for employees and labor leaders who want to have a direct influence on the development of artificial-intelligence technologies to do so. The project will start with labor summits that will create an environment where worker-centered technologies are co-designed, and such technology will be developed.
Collaboration is a key component in developing policies and skills. Microsoft and the American Federation of Labor and Industry will collaborate to influence legislation related to artificial intelligence (AI), workforce issues, and other relevant topics. They will work together to advocate for policies which provide workers with information and skills necessary to succeed in a world powered by AI. We are promoting more funding for career and technical training, as well supporting the expansion of apprenticeship programs.
The cooperation between Microsoft, the American Federation of Labor-CIO and other companies in the age of artificial intelligent is more than a corporate-social commitment. It is a blueprint for how labor and technology can work together. The partnership acknowledges that artificial intelligence has the potential to enhance occupations, while acknowledging workers' fears about being replaced by AI. The partnership ensures that workers' opinions and needs will be given the highest priority in the transition towards a future aided by artificial intelligence.
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