No worker 'subject to the will of a machine': EU trade union boss Esther Lynch calls on the EU to "guarantee a principle of human control" over burgeoning artificial intelligence technologies. "In the same way that the European treaties guarantee health or safety at work, we must guarantee a principle of human control over the machine," she said in an interview with AFP. "We must have a guarantee that no worker will ever be subject to the will of a machine," she said, calling this prospect "dystopian".
The 60-year-old Irishwoman, who was appointed general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) last December, chairs the organisation's congress which takes place from Tuesday to Friday in Berlin. Every four years, this event brings together trade union representatives from some forty countries. The arrival of ChatGPT software at the end of last year foreshadows the upheavals that artificial intelligence will cause for many professions.
Every technology has a positive side and a negative side, and so will AI.
Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation
While some are enthusiastic about the possible disappearance of the most repetitive tasks, others are worried about a dehumanization of decision-making, with the growing importance of algorithms, and the consequences on private data. Esther Lynch calls on the European Union (EU) to "discuss" with trade unions to regulate these tools. "Every technology has a positive side and a negative side, and so will AI. But every time you involve the workers ... what comes out is better," she says.
The EU is currently debating a broad piece of legislation to regulate certain uses of AI, and to prohibit others such as "widespread surveillance of a population". Faced with fears of massive job cuts, Esther Lynch calls for "ensuring that quality jobs are created where some jobs are destroyed". Finally, the leader urges that "everyone benefits from the productivity gains made possible by artificial intelligence", employees and shareholders alike.
Distribution of wealth
The question of wealth distribution will also be an important debate during the Congress, against a backdrop of galloping inflation in Europe. "The largest companies in Europe saw their dividends increase much more than wages last year," Lynch said. The organisation tackles the effects of the ECB's restrictive monetary policy to combat inflation. "Workers are the main victims of rising interest rates," she said. "The solution is to tax dividends and redistribute wealth."
The second woman to lead the ETUC, Esther Lynch won her first trade union mandate in the 1980s in Ireland. In 2015, she joined the ETUC, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It shares the leadership of the European trade unions with the French president of the ETUC, the boss of the CFDT Laurent Berger, whose functions are however less operational. His first months in office were marked by his expulsion from Tunisia after his participation in a demonstration, organized by the UGTT union, whose president Nourredine Taboubi, will speak Thursday at the ESC Congress.
'Moderate speech'
According to the authorities, Esther Lynch had made remarks constituting "flagrant interference in the internal affairs of Tunisia". "I made a moderate, respectful speech in support of local unions," she said. She says she was visited by law enforcement in her hotel after the government told her to leave the country within 24 hours. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid," she says.
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When I asked them to show me their badges, they laughed. This laughter was intended to make me understand that we were no longer in a regime of law, "she says, saying she feared "prison, or worse". "I've experienced the most polite bullying ... but I could sit here and cry thinking about it. The goal is to scare, intimidate and silence," she said. "This is what so many people are experiencing who are only exercising their fundamental right to belong to a union."