Humans must stay in control of AI, European trade union chief warns

No employee should be “subject to the will of a machine”, European trade union chief Esther Lynch has warned, calling for regulation to ensure humans remain in control as artificial intelligence technology advances at breakneck speed.

In the same way that European Union treaties protect health and safety in the workplace, rules are needed to guarantee “the human-in-control principle” when it comes to AI, Lynch said in an interview ahead of a major gathering of union representatives in Berlin.

“We need to be guaranteed that no worker is subject to the will of a machine,” Lynch told AFP, a scenario she said would be “dystopian”.