Why we built the AI Early Warning System

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Organise’s AI Early Warning System is the first dashboard tracking how workers are experiencing the rollout of AI at work. AI is in the news constantly - new technology, new terrifying predictions, and new talks of the need to regulate it. Underneath all of this noise, the introduction and embedding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already changing the world of work forever. 

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We don’t have long to get this right. Workers are already losing their livelihoods. Job availability, the day-to-day reality of modern work and entire professions are being transformed - all of this is currently happening with no regulation specific to AI, and limited oversight from existing legislation. 

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With our network of millions of workers, we are uncovering how AI is impacting workers right now, and what we can do to resist its misuse. 

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Here’s what we’ve found: 

74.3% of workers are not told by their employer that AI is in use

65.5% of workers were never trained or offered training on AI tools

57.6% of workers feel tracked or monitored by technology

While the majority of workers who have participated in the AI Early Warning System reported having seen or heard of AI being used in their workplace, almost none of the workers who participated were consulted. 

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AI driven workplace surveillance and performance management technologies are the most frequently reported usage for people in low paid work and are consistently degrading the lives of workers. This includes being constantly filmed, having decisions about your performance automated based on AI interpretations of surveillance footage, and being subjected to AI driven predictive efficiency targets. One Royal Mail worker said “When clocking in or delivering a parcel, if you have done so correctly but the electronic device (PDA) being used doesn’t register it correctly, the evidence, or lack of it, on the computer system is used against you. All computer evidence Royal Mail has is used over the genuine knowledge and experience of its workers.”  Given that Royal Mail was implicated in the Post Office scandal, it is especially shocking that technology is being prioritised over workers' views’.

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In public services, the rapid implementation of AI with minimal oversight, is a cause of significant concern for workers in these organisations. More than 2,000 NHS workers have taken part, amongst whom the majority have seen or heard of AI being used, but have not received guidance from their Trust. One NHS nurse said, “We don’t have an AI policy but have been told we can use AI for everything except clinical decision making. There is little guidance on how to use the AI or if we need to fact check it.” In many cases, such as the use of AI as a second opinion in radiology, AI can be advantageous, but unchecked usage is a disaster waiting to happen.

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Thousands of workers' have said that the technology just doesn’t work. One Sainsbury’s worker said “Our schedule system (UKG Pro) is now apparently AI, and is constantly underpaying colleagues and glitching so shift schedules/hours worked are wrong.”

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Right now, big tech companies are deciding the future of this technology. But artificial intelligence is a tool - and it’s only as good as the people that train it. With the right support and protections, the rollout of artificial intelligence technology could have incredible benefits for workers. Currently, workers lack the resources and power to win the future with this technology that we deserve. But the seismic changes happening in the workforce as a result of AI are already bringing opportunities to challenge this. AI itself does not produce the answer - workers have the power over whether this technology is successful.  When designed and implemented with workers in mind, with collaborative buy-in from the outset, we can get the working lives that we deserve.  At Organise, workers are running and winning campaigns to make this a reality.

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Take a look at the dashboard here: https:organise.network/ai