Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546062
AI SHOULD WORK FOR US SAG-AFTRA Shares Its Blueprint for Worker Protections in the AI Era O n June 9, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland delivered his AI Should Work for Us presentation at the 30th AFL-CIO Convention. The interactive lecture invited attendees to consider the threats workers in all industries face when AI-enabled technology is employed in their workplace. Below is an excerpt of Crabtree-Ireland's remarks: In the workplace, it's not always easy to spot AI. Just because there aren't robots or even keyboards at your job doesn't mean that there isn't AI-enabled technology. Absent some kind of governance that reflects worker concerns, AI systems are rife with biases, ethics concerns, and inaccurate and even hallucinated output. For broadcasters, recording artists, performers and other media workers, AI can show up in a particularly personal way: full replacement of the workers' faces, voices, performances and even our personal identities. And it can be shockingly convincing. At SAG-AFTRA, we've been working on these issues for years. And we've learned that no single solution is enough. There are three strategic channels that have to work together: collective bargaining, public policy, and member and public education. If your voice can be copied, if your image can be replicated, if your data can be harvested, if your work can be used to train systems that may one day replace or undercut you, this is about you. This is about all workers. The good news is that workers are not powerless. We know how to deal with technological change. We organize, we bargain, we legislate, we educate, we build coalitions and we fight for standards that protect not just one workplace, but entire industries. And when workers have power, technology can be governed differently. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland delivers his AI Should Work for Us presentation on June 9 in Minneapolis. JAY MALLIN/ AFL-CIO Click to watch NED Crabtree-Ireland's full presentation.