About the Centre for Responsible Union AI

Our vision is a future where unions have the understanding, skills and support they need to strategically harness ethical and worker-friendly digital and AI, building their power and relevance to build a more just world of work in the AI age.

Why we exist

AI is affecting every employer and workplace. While many unions have focused on influencing employers to use AI ethically in the workplace, this is not th only way AI impacts unions.

AI impacts every union directly – in their staff, their ways of working, their use of data, the ways they support members and their capacity and relevance.

The Centre on Responsible Union AI aims to grow the agility of unions by:

  • Supporting them in modernising their operating models for the AI age.

  • Building digital and AI skills among union staff.

  • Helping unions become ethical AI influencers and pioneers.

Our approach

  1. Grow understanding: Engage union staff globally, document opportunities and challenges, and connect communities to understand AI's impact.

  2. Grow skills: Train union staff with courses on understanding and adopting responsible AI; use experimentation to build direct experience of what works and doesn’t for unions.

  3. Grow support: Test responsible AI solutions, equip unions with trusted AI suppliers, and convene expert partners to design responses to AI's impact on unions.

What is Responsible AI?

We define Responsible AI as AI that:

  • Ethical, inclusive, and worker-friendly

  • Effective and efficient - not AI for the sake of AI

  • Human-centered in design

  • Transformational and long-term in intent

  • Agile and pragmatic in execution

  • Systemic and transparent

While there are numerous challenges and risks in using AI, there's an equally important flip side to consider: choosing not to engage with AI at all may itself be irresponsible. Here's four reasons why:

  1. Workers everywhere are building AI knowledge. Union members are increasingly encountering AI in their workplaces. To effectively represent them, we need practical understanding of these tools. This helps us provide better support and negotiate stronger protections.

  2. You have a right to find more meaning in your work. If AI can improve work, we as workers should be actively investigating how to do that. The opportunities of engagement are promising: shifting our focus from routine tasks to higher-value activities, enhancing your human capabilities; creating more time for meaning and developing new skills that are essential for the future.

  3. AI is reshaping work and communication. The way organisations communicate and operate is already being changed by AI and will continue to become increasingly AI-augmented. Understanding AI through direct experience helps us better advocate for worker interests in this changing landscape.

  4. Responsible union use can influence broader AI adoption. As worker representatives and organisations, our approach to AI can help shape how it's implemented more broadly. By modelling responsible AI use, we can better advocate for worker-friendly AI policies and practices. We can educate those around us about the potential risks and benefits of AI technologies. We can be part of organisations that push for policies that prioritise societal well-being over corporate profits.

The Centre is part of Unions21.

Homepage image: Anton Grabolle / Better Images of AI / AI Architecture / CC-BY 4.0