The „age of digital interdependence“, as referred to by the „UN High Level on Digital Cooperation“, will have fundamental consequences for the future of work. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), headquartered in Geneva, has those challenges discussed since years. In January 2019, a „Global Commission on the Future of Work“, co-chaired by the Swedish Primeminister Sven Lofgren and the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, published its final report where they state that „technological advances – artificial intelligence, automation and robotics – will create new jobs, but those who lose their jobs in this transition may be the least equipped to seize the new opportunities. Today’s skills will not match the jobs of tomorrow and newly acquired skills may quickly become obsolete.“[1]

With other words, how to create opportunities for a decent work in the age of digital interdependence is a key element in the development of digital cooperation in the 2020s. The ILO Commission did propose „a human-centred agenda for the future of work that strengthens the social contract by placing people and the work they do at the centre of economic and social policy and business practice.“ And it puts „education“ in the center of a long-term strategy by calling for „a universal entitlement to lifelong learning that enables people to acquire skills and to reskill and upskill. Lifelong learning encompasses formal and informal learning from early childhood and basic education through to adult learning. Governments, workers and employers, as well as educational institutions, have complementary responsibilities in building an effective and appropriately financed lifelong learning ecosystem.“

In this context, one of the fundamental challenges in the forthcoming decade will be the handling of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As the OECD has outlined „Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, promising to generate productivity gains, improve efficiency and lower costs. It contributes to better lives and helps people make better predictions and more informed decisions. These technologies, however, are still in their infancy, and there remains much promise for AI to address global challenges and promote innovation and growth. As AI’s impacts permeate our societies, its transformational power must be put at the service of people and the planet. At the same time, AI is also fuelling anxieties and ethical concerns. There are questions about the trustworthiness of AI systems, including the dangers of codifying and reinforcing existing biases, such as those related to gender and race, or of infringing on human rights and values, such as privacy. Concerns are growing about AI systems exacerbating inequality, climate change, market concentration and the digital divide. No single country or actor has all the answers to these challenges. We therefore need international co-operation and multi-stakeholder responses to guide the development and use of AI for the wider good.“[2]

The ethical dimension of Artificial Intelligence is a key component of the future of work in a connected world. Insofar it was very helpful and important that the OECD adopted also a document with five principles which should guide future discussions and actions around AI.

The OECD Recommendation identifies five complementary values-based principles for the responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI:

1. AI should benefit people and the planet by driving inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being.

2. AI systems should be designed in a way that respects the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and diversity, and they should include appropriate safeguards – for example, enabling human intervention where necessary – to ensure a fair and just society.

3. There should be transparency and responsible disclosure around AI systems to ensure that people understand AI-based outcomes and can challenge them.

4. AI systems must function in a robust, secure and safe way throughout their life cycles and potential risks should be continually assessed and managed.

5. Organisations and individuals developing, deploying or operating AI systems should be held accountable for their proper functioning in line with the above principles.[3]

Those OECD principles got broad international support. The fact, that the G20 Summit Meeting in Osaka in June 2019 confirmed the principles gives them even a more universal character.

However, much more has to be done to understand the implications of AI for the future of work as well as for other key issues related to the „age of digital interdependence“ as peace and international security, sustainable developmet and the protection of human rights.

The German Trade Union ver.di has those issues on its agenda since more than ten years. 2008, ver.di adopted a doucment called „The Berlin Manifesto“ where it was stated that „open access to the Internet is now an essential feature of any information society. Not having Internet access means being excluded from vast areas of social and family life, being unable to avail oneself of educational opportunities and access information, and being excluded from the democratic process – both in one's private and working life.“ And the Manifesto made clear that „education and access to knowledge are increasingly important basic rights. New technologies have made it significantly easier to access and exchange information and knowledge. We want to secure, use and expand these opportunities for social, economic and cultural participation.“

Just recently, in January 2019, the German Confederation of Trade Unions has published a special working paper on AI.[4] Like ILO or OECD, the paper recognized the hypbid nature of the role of AI in the age of digital interdependence. To maximise the opportunties and to minimize the risks is a good general guideline. But the real problem is how to translate such a guideline into the day to day activties of inolved stakeholders.

„Ultimately“, says the paper, „the aim is to achieve a good balance between new, data-based business models and the improvement and optimisation of processes on the one hand, and the interests of employees, above all job security and better working conditions in the future, on the other. This requires openness and commitment to the participation, co-determination and negotiation processes described above. At the same time, ethical limits, social standards and ‘fail-safes’ should be set: The human user should always have the right of final decision. In addition, labour law consequences for employees which could theoretically result from ‘digital management’ or surveillance must be strictly excluded. Failing this, acceptance issues could become a serious obstacle to the implementation of AI systems in the workplace even if ergonomics were improved.“

To achieve such a „good balance“ it needs a multistakeholder discussion where all involved and affected parties are having the opportunity on equal footing to participate in policy development and decision making around the future of AI in the digital age. The UN sponsored IGF is a great opportunity to disucss next steps. And an IGF+, as proposed by the UN High Level panel could be helpful to translate the outcome of the multistakehololder IGF discussions into more concrete decisions.

Insofar, the recommendation of the ILO „that all relevant multilateral institutions strengthen their joint work on this agenda … and establish substantive working relations between the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Bretton Woods institutions and the ILO“ is useful. There are strong, complex and crucial links between trade, financial, economic and social policies. The success of the human-centred growth and development agenda depends heavily on coherence across these policy areas.

[1] Work for a brighter future, Final Report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work, ILO, Geneva, January 2019, see: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/future-of-work/publications/WCMS_662539/lang--en/index.htm

[2]See: Artificial Intelligence in Society, OECD, Paris, June 2019, in: http://www.oecd.org/going-digital/artificial-intelligence-in-society-eedfee77-en.htm

[3] See: https://www.oecd.org/going-digital/ai/principles/

[4] Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work A discussion paper of the German Confederation of Trade Unions concerning the debate on artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. Berlin, January 2019