Several years ago, I applied for a job. The first round was an online interview with a computer. A series of questions appeared on the screen followed by a disappearing line telling me time was running out. I didn’t speak to a human at all during this process. The experience was deeply impersonal; I was oblivious to what the computer wanted from me and was slightly bemused by the experience. I somehow met the computer’s expectations but failed in later (slightly) more human stages.

Less than a decade later, technology plays a bigger role than ever in recruitment and in managing working environments. I chair a Working Group on AI and Tech in the Workplace, and nobody could miss the trend on social media platforms for articles on AI and work. In the last week alone, I’ve read articles from law firms, the OECD, the Institute for the Future of Work and the TUC. I’ve heard first-hand from Amazon workers about the technology used to drive their performance and from postal workers about the algorithms used to determine the efficiency of their rounds. I’ve heard of the potential discrimination in the tools used to determine where jobs are advertised, in recruitment rounds like the one I experienced and in performance management. I am speaking on AI in the workplace at a conference in a few weeks. I am no expert, but I am learning fast. I think we all have to.

There is much written about the risks of AI and the need to protect workers through existing and future legislation. The TUC’s excellent manifesto, Dignity at work and the AI revolution (March 2021), sets out the ‘values we should all adopt to make sure that technology at work is for the benefit of everyone’. While I am perhaps being over-optimistic, given the absence of legal aid for employment advice and of sufficient funding to properly resource a specialist employment advice sector, I am hopeful that technology presents the best possibility of achieving greater workplace fairness, equality and progress.

To test this, I asked ChatGBT: ‘What are the opportunities for using AI to access justice in workplace rights?’ Within just a few seconds, it highlighted several ‘opportunities where AI can play a transformative role', pointing out that ‘while AI presents promising prospects, it's crucial to ensure that ethical considerations, data privacy, and accountability are prioritized in the development and deployment of these AI-driven solutions’.

The list included several ideas, many of which we might wish and need to explore in order to protect workers and their rights. These included:

There are many challenges to bringing these ideas into effect, particularly those that require funding to achieve long-term viable and scalable technology solutions. However, I am increasingly focusing on ways in which AI can provide tools that advisers within the Employment Legal Advice Network and elsewhere can use to reduce labour exploitation and create a more just workplace for all workers.