A scientific conference dedicated to this is taking place in Krakow on Tuesday artificial intelligence in the labor marketorganized on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the National Labor Inspectorate.
event guest, mathematician Dr. Grzegorz Gancarzewicz, dealing with algorithms and artificial intelligence, said in an interview with PAP that there is no threat that this civilization achievement will replace humans in the coming years. However, he drew attention to the “enormous responsibility of the state to prevent such a situation – among others for ethical and social reasons.”
Social and economic effects of the rapid implementation of AI in the labor market
The relatively quick domination of the labor market by AI would, according to the scientist, become a big social problem, although – as he added – companies that implement AI will become more competitive.
“In Polish conditions, the replacement of humans by AI, but also the complete automation of work by machines, would destroy this already very fragile pension system. The contributions of future employees are intended to finance our pensions,” the mathematician noted.
The impact of AI on different age groups in the labor market
He pointed out that a possible rapid change in the labor market was caused by uncontrolled implementation of AIcould particularly concern two groups: young people preparing to enter the labor market and those who are close to reaching pre-retirement age.
Dr. Gancarzewicz emphasized that not only the Polish state, but the entire country European Union has an important role to play in implementing and controlling AI.
The need for legal regulations in the context of AI
“The need to change the law that would regulate the use of AI systems results not only from the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, but also in many other areas of life,” said the scientist. As an example of a threat, he mentioned the generation of false videos based on a person’s photo showing actions and statements that have never taken place, and bots that spread false information on the Internet.
Paying attention to the advancement United States in developing AI models and systems, he emphasized the need to build AI service centers in Europe. “Solutions must also be implemented locally. This is a huge responsibility of the state, the European Community,” he said. As he clarified, AI service centers would increase competition and reduce the risk of communication difficulties between continents in the event of a failure or armed conflict. “In the case of using the services of American companies, interruption of ICT connections between the US and Europe may block access to these services and, as a consequence, block the work of even a large enterprise. In addition, there are not many independent connections between continents, and the existing ones are an easy target,” explained Dr. Gancarzewicz.
Global challenges: Shortening the working week and workers’ rights
At the same time, he drew attention to the “inconvenient” position of the governments of individual countries. On the one hand, they have to deal with the trend shortening the working week, postulated, among others, by some political parties, on the other hand, the economy is still global, which means that European countries have to compete with countries (China-PAP) where the protection of employee rights is completely different.
Commenting on the impact of AI on the job market, Dr. Gancarzewicz noted that the answers to the impact of artificial intelligence are not simple. However, it is certain that AI will change the work of many people, force them to learn new things, perhaps force them to change jobs, but it can also improve working conditions and shorten working hours – this is, for example, the case of positions where virtual assistants would be useful.
AI capabilities and limitations
AI – according to the expert – can replace jobs that require repeatable procedures. In the construction sector, it probably won’t replace employees who perform construction work, but – according to the mathematician – it works well in supporting design, e.g. BIM (building information modeling) technology, which is one of the modern techniques of digital construction.
“It may turn out that AI in some industries will increase the demand for employees. Moreover, you need to hire someone to implement the AI system. Then someone has to supervise this system,” said the scientist. He added that AI will not replace people with the best ideas and highly creative people.
New job positions
Asked about new job positionswhich AI could force to create, mentioned the creator prompts, i.e. queries directed to AI. The prompt creator would not only prepare queries for AI, but also verify the answers to them. Prompt engineering it is the art of asking good questions and commands for artificial intelligence systems. Students of the Krakow University of Technology are already learning such skills.
The implementation of AI also means – noted Dr. Gancarzewicz – a revolution in education. Educational programs will have to make room for learning how to train AI models, but also for learning methods for verifying the correctness of the effect of artificial intelligence.
Critical advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence
The advantages of AI include speed and no dependence of work results on health or emotional states. Disadvantages – dependence on electricity, no legal liability. Both AI and humans can make mistakes. A human – the scientist emphasized – should always verify the results of AI’s work and should never be subordinated to any machine.
“At the moment, I do not know of an artificial intelligence system that operates without human control, because legal responsibility for the operation of a company or machine is always borne by a human. A certain exception are autonomous cars approved for use in some countries,” concluded Dr. Grzegorz Gancarzewicz.
In January 2024, the Ministry of Digital Affairs established an advisory team PL/AI Artificial Intelligence for Poland, which will prepare recommendations on the use of AI to improve specific areas of state operation. (PAP)
Author: Beata Kołodziej
