Federal regulators will tackle artificial intelligence-related workplace safety risks after President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence on Oct. 30, according to Safety and Health Magazine.
The EO states that "AI should not be deployed in ways that undermine rights, worsen job quality, encourage undue worker surveillance, lessen market competition, introduce new health and safety risks, or cause harmful labor force disruptions." The Biden administration's priorities in the EO include safety and security, promoting innovation and competition, worker protections and training, equal employment opportunity, consumer protection and privacy, and the federal government's role in promoting safe AI usage.
AI-based technologies are increasingly popular across numerous industries to help reduce costs, enhance employee performance, and effectively monitor numerous potential hazards. But those advantages come with serious potential downsides, according to the International Bar Association. AI technologies may not adequately consider physical and cognitive abilities of individual workers and can create mistrust between workers and management. And according to a 2022 report from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, which functions much like OSHA in the U.S., AI usage in the workplace was associated with musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disorders and anxiety.
