Worker management through AI - From technology development to the impacts on workers and their safety and health

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shifting the nature of work and work relationships. This paper maps AI-based worker management (AIWM) technologies and their sectoral penetration, through analysis of patent data and content.

It puts forward a measurement-based approach that can be used to investigate the impact of AIWM technologies on the workforce, tasks and functions. The findings point to the adverse impact that AIWM can have on workers’ safety and health. Importantly, the research shows only a marginal fraction of patents aimed at improving human wellbeing, underscoring a lack in corporate interest to employ such technologies to improve OSH.