Developing a strategic plan for AI in the workplace: Where to start

The increased use of AI-based tools and machines in the workplace will lead to new legal questions concerning privacy/security, workplace safety, and far-ranging employment and labor issues. (Photo: Shutterstock)

While various advancements in technology, robotics, and artificially intelligent (AI) systems have entered the workplace in recent years, many have debated how quickly these new tools, machines and systems would fully transform the workplace. It seemed that there was at least a bit of runway before a major transformation, including any resulting job loss, would be realized.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, however, millions of workers around the globe were sent home to work, some continued to work on-site during the pandemic, while many others found themselves without employment. Employers had to pivot quickly to revamp their systems and prepare workers for a new workplace in order to remain operational, which did not leave much time to strategically plan or evaluate particular technologies and tools, or consider their long-term impact.