GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a new Observatory on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and work in the digital economy.
This online resource has been created in recognition of the significant impact that AI will have on the world of work, and aims to become the world’s leading international knowledge hub on the world of work aspects of AI and the digital economy.
The Observatory will bring together evidence, analysis and expertise related to AI and the digital economy, focusing on four key areas:
Artificial intelligence (including analysis of the impact on employment and productivity), algorithmic management (referring to the use of algorithms and tracking data to manage and supervise work), digital labor platforms (which have grown exponentially as a new form of work over the past decade and are due to be the subject of standard-setting discussions at the International Labor Conferences in 2025 and 2026), and workers’ personal data (which are due to provide guidance on how employers should handle the collection of workers’ personal data).
Speaking at the launch, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houmbo said: “We recognise that workplaces around the world are being transformed by AI. The ILO aims to support governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations in managing this transition so that AI is a positive force.”
The Observatory was launched at a high-level online event on 25 September, attended by the ILO Director-General, Amandeep Singh Gill, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Technical Affairs, Marina Elvira Calderone, Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), Kathy Feingold, Vice-President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and Richard Sumans, Director of the ILO Research Department.
