A coalition of workers' rights groups are urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to prioritize protections for workers by regulating artificial intelligence.
The Hill noted the appeal came in a letter to Schumer dated Tuesday. The letter detailed ways companies can use automated systems to watch, replace, or hire and fire workers.
In certain instances, the organizations claimed employers are already monitoring them through AI or other tech means. Those employers allegedly include Amazon, Google, and Walmart. The Hill said it has reached out for comment from those companies.
"To guard against this dystopian future, Congress should develop a new generation of economic policies and labor rights to prevent corporations like Amazon from leveraging tech-driven worker exploitation into profit and outcompeting rivals by taking the low road," the groups wrote.
"Establishing robust protections related to workplace technology and rebalancing power between workers and employers could reorient the economy and tech innovation toward more equitable and sustainable outcomes," they added.
In their letter, they say Congress must act to "prioritize the health, safety, and wages of data workers that develop and train AI."
They are also asking for Congress to "adopt a framework that addresses the underlying lack of transparency, due process and fairness, and job security in our at-will employment system in the U.S."
A July survey by the Pew Research Center found that one-fifth of all workers have high-exposure jobs when it comes to AI. Women, Asians, college-educated and higher-paid workers are more exposed.
However the survey also found those in the most exposed industries are more likely to say AI will help more than hurt them personally.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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