Employers should be statutorily barred from using AI to make decisions affecting workers without "human oversight", while the FWC should review the National Employment Standards in response to "significant job redesign" by the technology, says a government inquiry into the digital transformation of workplaces.
A Senate inquiry into AI has recommended updating workplace OHS frameworks to impose a positive duty on employers to minimise the risk of AI and mandating consultation, while a second parliamentary probe is considering whether the government should introduce protections from excessive workplace surveillance.
A study into the use of generative AI tools in recruitment warns they might filter out qualified candidates based on race, social origin and disabilities and butt-up against anti-discrimination laws, but with "guardrails" could in fact address bias and boost transparency.
A blowout in FEG scheme processing times, a "human-in-the-loop" AI initiative and no gender pay gap among its employees are among the highlights of DEWR's latest annual report, tabled last week.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has told this year's AI-themed Ron McCallum Debate that algorithmic wage discrimination is having "major effects" on the world of work and employment rights, which he expects to "hit Australia fairly soon".
Cbus workers have voted up a deal setting "the gold standard" for AI protections in the finance sector and locking-in more flexible working from home arrangements, according to the FSU.
Journalists at Nine Entertainment's publishing arm have accepted a revised in-principle three-year offer that provides improved pay rises and commits the parties to drafting a framework for the "ethical" use of artificial intelligence.
The FWC has rejected a law firm's argument that a legal assistant abandoned his job, finding its director sacked him in a text message he composed with the assistance of artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
Unions will bargain for artificial intelligence "productivity clauses" to ensure workers are paid a "fair share" of additional wealth created by the technology rather than just generating "super profits" for employers, under a new ACTU policy.
Boosted delegates' rights will make workplaces more cooperative, potentially increasing productivity and workers' openness to new technologies such as artificial intelligence, according to a report that also warns unions not to fall into a trap with their paid training leave win.
