A recent Executive Order from the Biden administration noted the “promise and peril” of artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, AI has the potential to transform the workplace in unprecedented ways. Its capabilities range from automating routine tasks to providing insights through data analysis, enabling employees to focus on more strategic and creative work. Despite its promise, the integration of AI into the workplace is not without risks. Concerns about job displacement, privacy, bias, and overall impact on employee well-being are rampant.

Following on the Executive Order, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued new guidance titled “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-Being: Principles for Developers and Employers” in May. The guidance offers a framework to address the complexities of AI usage in the workplace.

Here’s a summary of the principles in this framework and what they mean for employers.

The DOL’s new AI principles

The new AI principles hope to encourage the responsible, transparent use of AI in the workplace. The goal is to ensure workers benefit from new opportunities created by AI and protect them from its potential harms.

Here are the eight principles:

• [North Star] Centering Worker Empowerment: Workers and their representatives, especially those from underserved communities, should be informed of and have genuine input in the design, development, testing, training, use, and oversight of AI systems for use in the workplace.
• Ethically Developing AI: AI systems should be designed, developed, and trained in a way that protects workers.
• Establishing AI Governance and Human Oversight: Organizations should have clear governance systems, procedures, human oversight, and evaluation processes for AI systems for use in the workplace.
• Ensuring Transparency in AI Use: Employers should be transparent with workers and job seekers about the AI systems that are being used in the workplace.
• Protecting Labor and Employment Rights: AI systems should not violate or undermine workers’ right to organize, health and safety rights, wage and hour rights, and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections.
• Using AI to Enable Workers: AI systems should assist, complement, and enable workers, and improve job quality.
• Supporting Workers Impacted by AI: Employers should support or upskill workers during job transitions related to AI.
• Ensuring Responsible Use of Worker Data: Workers’ data collected, used, or created by AI systems should be limited in scope and location, used only to support legitimate business aims, and protected and handled responsibly.

The principles apply “during the whole lifecycle of AI — from design to development, testing, training, deployment and use, oversight, and auditing.” Despite their breadth, the DOL did not intend for the principles to be “an exhaustive list” but instead to serve “as a guiding framework.” Accordingly, the DOL guidance encourages employers and developers to customize the principles based on their experience, context, and employee input.

Next steps for employers and developers

The new principles are not enforceable mandates. However, the DOL is likely to consider how well employers comply with them in investigations into AI deployment in the workplace. To begin implementing these principles, employers should consider taking these steps:

• Actively include employees and their representatives in the design, development, testing, and deployment stages of AI systems to ensure these systems meet workforce needs. Include voices from underserved communities to ensure that the AI tools benefit all workers equitably.
• Regularly audit your AI systems to identify and mitigate biases. Ensure that AI development teams are diverse and trained in ethical AI practices.
• Develop and implement guidelines for AI development, emphasizing the protection and fair treatment of all employees. Set up clear governance systems that define roles and responsibilities for human oversight of AI.
• Be transparent with employees and job seekers about the AI systems in use, how they function, and how they impact work. Train employees on how AI systems work and how they are intended to assist in their roles, fostering a culture of openness and trust.
• Ensure that AI systems do not infringe on workers’ rights, including the right to organize and anti-discrimination protections.
• Invest in training programs to help workers gain new skills necessary to adapt to AI-enhanced roles.
• Collect only the data necessary for legitimate business purposes and ensure that data usage is transparent and consensual.

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