Should you be worried about AI?

A recent report by the United Nations' International Labour Organization [1] suggests that jobs that are traditionally performed by women are more vulnerable to being transformed by AI than those performed by men. The jobs assessed as being most at risk of being replaced or enhanced by AI were clerical tasks such as human resources and secretarial functions, in addition to finance-related and software roles.

This is driven predominantly by the desire by businesses to perform more effectively, improving productivity and achieving cost efficiencies. However, it is important to note that AI is not expected to completely replace human operators. Indeed, we are seeing a marked uptake in students pursuing STEM topics [2] with the aim of working in roles alongside AI in the future.

We are repeatedly told that embracing AI will allow businesses to automate repetitive functions while rotating human operators into more fulfilling roles where they can add greater benefit. In practice, however, this is not always possible. Noting the functions that are most likely to be impacted by integrating AI and its potential to reduce diversity in the workplace as a result, should you be worried?

If you are a female entrepreneur running your own franchise business, you are not in a traditionally female role, so you should consider your workforce. If you have a diverse workforce that consists of men and women of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, would implementing AI unfairly disadvantage any particular sector of your workforce? Would this disadvantage place you at odds with the Employment Equity Act [3]?

The Employment Equity Act states that you should eliminate barriers that result from your systems, policies and practices, and it may be argued that implementing AI technologies that discriminate against women would be in breach of this legislation. In this case, you should be worried about AI as it could place you on rocky legal ground.

If you are a female entrepreneur with no workforce, you should have fewer concerns about implementing AI; when used correctly, it should improve your productivity. Likewise, if you are a male entrepreneur with no workforce, AI should be of little concern to you. However, if you have staff, you must consider whether implementing AI would disadvantage any of them.

There is certainly a balance to be struck between using the technology to improve efficiency versus demotivating staff in your administrative functions and potentially breaching equality legislation that exists to protect your workforce.

It is important to carefully consider the needs of your workforce before implementing any AI technologies into your processes and ensure that you fully understand the capabilities of your chosen system so you can reduce the risk of erroneous results and maintain staff morale during and after the rollout.

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Resources:

[1] https://www.ilo.org/publications/generative-ai-and-jobs-refined-global-index-occupational-exposure

[2] https://www.ilo.org/meetings-and-events/are-ai-jobs-driving-demand-stem-education

[3] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-5.401/