In this era of rapid technological change and huge political promises being loaded onto LLMs, how can we ensure that automation serves human potential rather than undermines it? Outlining findings from the ground-breaking Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing, Anna Thomas MBE will present an approach to technological transformation that puts human capabilities and wellbeing at the centre of innovation.Drawing on extensive research across UK firms and workers, she will outline critical insights about AI and automation's impact on work: from the hidden opportunities and inequalities emerging across regions and demographics to the urgent need for a new "Good Work" paradigm that prioritises human agency, skills, and resilience.&nbsp;Key takeaways will include:&nbsp;<ul><li>Why adopting more, new workplace technologies won’t automatically be positive for firms – or for health and wellbeing</li><li>How we can shape automation to enhance—not replace—human potential and use it to deliver a fairer future of better work</li><li>The importance of skills diversity and adaptive capabilities</li><li>Strategies for creating more equitable technological transitions</li></ul>

Geneva

Good Work in the Age of AI – how can innovation and social good advance together?

Anna Thomas MBE

Institute for the Future of Work

Speakers

Founding Co-Director 

Janine Berg

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Senior Economist

We only have 5 years to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and AI is impacting people and the planet. We are the AI generation, and it is our responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind.AI for Good is identifying trustworthy AI applications, building skills and standards, and advancing AI governance for sustainable development.AI for Good is organized by ITU in partnership with over 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland.

This new webinar series “AI &amp; Work”, curated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), kicks off with a presentation of a global ILO study which analyses the potential exposure of occupations and tasks to Generative AI, and the possible implications of such exposure for job quantity and quality. It estimates task-level scores and then models potential employment effects at the global level as well as by country income group, highlighting the profile of those most affected.&nbsp;

Janine Berg and Pawel Gmyrek, ILO: Generative AI and jobs- A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and quality

In this webinar, moderated by Janine Berg, ILO senior economist and Pawel Gmyrek, ILO senior researcher, Professor Daron Acemoglu presents a range of future scenarios of how AI might reshape the work landscape by 2030.This webinar is part of the <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/event/daron-acemoglu-can-we-have-pro-worker-ai/">ITU's AI for Good Initiative</a>. The goal of AI for Good is to identify practical applications of AI to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and scale those solutions for global impact. It is the leading action-oriented, global, and inclusive United Nations platform on AI. AI for Good is organized by ITU in partnership with 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with Switzerland.&nbsp;

Daron Acemoglu, MIT: Can we have pro-worker AI?

This event is organized as part of ITU's <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/event/ai-job-quality-and-worker-voice-conditions-for-mutual-gains-in-the-digital-economy/">AI for Good Series</a>. Digital and AI-based technologies provide new tools to reorganize work and manage workers. These can be used in different ways: to automate and deskill jobs or augment worker skills; and to intensify monitoring and discipline or improve training and scheduling. In this talk, Professor Doellgast asks under what conditions these technologies generate mutual gains for employers, workers, and the broader public – drawing on findings from research in the North American and European telecom, IT, and call center industries. She discusses challenges to realizing these benefits, as well as opportunities for management and policy choices that support more socially sustainable AI strategies.&nbsp; &nbsp;This talk is based on: Doellgast, V. (2023). Can democracy at work deliver mutual gains in the digital economy? Studi organizzativi: XXV, 2, 2023, 213-229. – and Doellgast, V., Wagner, I., &amp; O’Brady, S. (2023). Negotiating limits on algorithmic management in digitalised services: cases from Germany and Norway. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 29(1), 105-120.&nbsp;This live event includes a 30-minute networking event hosted on the AI for Good Neural Network. This is your opportunity to ask questions, interact with the panelists and participants and build connections with the AI for Good community.

Virginia Doellgast, Cornell U.: AI, job quality, and worker voice- Conditions for mutual gains in the digital economy

This event is organized as part of ITU's <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/event/ai-job-quality-and-worker-voice-conditions-for-mutual-gains-in-the-digital-economy/">AI for Good Series</a>.In July 2023, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began a 118-day strike following a breakdown in negotiations with its counterpart, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). At the heart of the breakdown in negotiations was the use of AI in production. This conversation with Duncan Crabtree Ireland, Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, will discuss the concerns of its membership over the use of AI and the reasons the union felt an imperative to have an agreement on informed consent and fair compensation. The conversation will also cover the potential and limitations of AI for the industry, the need to establish guardrails at an early stage, as well as the technology-proof uniqueness of human talent.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA: Negotiating AI in Hollywood- A conversation with the chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild

This event is organized as part of ITU's <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/event/david-autor-applying-ai-to-rebuild-middle-class-jobs/">AI for Good Series</a>.In the Information Age, many hoped that technology would level the economic playing field by making information widely accessible. Instead, it concentrated power among experts who use this information to make important decisions. AI, however, presents a unique opportunity to change this dynamic by enhancing human expertise. AI can help more workers, not just elite professionals, take on complex tasks like medical care, legal work, software development, and education. The main argument of this talk is that, if used wisely, AI could help rebuild the middle-skill, middle-class heart of the US labor market that has been hollowed out by automation and globalization.

David Autor, MIT: Expertise, Artificial Intelligence, and the Work of the Future

This event is organized as part of ITU's <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/">AI for Good Series</a>.AI technologies have captured the public imagination and raised substantial fears. Many of these fears concern automation as some commentators claim that the large-scale elimination of jobs is imminent. This talk will try to put AI into some context about the things it does and how technologies have operated in the past. As in the past, new technologies such as AI don’t just automate, they also change organizations, the worker skills needed, and they have strong effects on consumers. Automation rarely replaces entire jobs; it typically just automates specific tasks. And when this happens, the remaining tasks – the ones that humans perform – become more valuable and often require new and deeper skills. Moreover, consumer benefits often raise demand dramatically as prices fall and quality improves. Greater demand often increases&nbsp;employment, rather than eliminating it. The talk will look at the long-term consequences of these changes and what the main social challenges are raised by this new technology.

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ILO Events

April 2025