The DOL Hosts the Second of Three Open Sessions Inviting Public Comment on AI Development and Deployment in the Workplace

The Department of Labor held the second “Making AI Work for Workers” listening session on December 14, 2023, which focused on developing and deploying AI in the workplace. The event was attended by representatives of IBM, Microsoft, Workday, interest groups, and citizens representing their interests. The speakers at the event had diverse interests, but accountability, fairness, privacy, and trust were common themes. 

Some speakers recommended supporting innovation by allowing developers and deployers to adopt role-based obligations and to build trust through compliance testing and defensibility. The DOL was encouraged to adopt a risk-based approach to regulation similar to the European Union’s AI Act, which imposes regulation only when an AI system poses a high risk to health, safety, and fundamental rights.

Other speakers expressed concerns regarding the accountability for AI bias, privacy, uneven distribution of AI benefits, potential displacement of entry-level workers, the absence of worker AI training, and the exploitation of foreign labor in AI development.  Speakers opined that thoughtful regulation is necessary to remove potential bias and discrimination from AI algorithms, safeguard individual rights, and mitigate disparity.

The third and final DOL listening session, focusing on how workers, unions, worker advocates, and AI researchers consider AI's impact in the workplace, was held on December 15, 2023. A summary of the first DOL listening session can be found here.

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