Business tool reduces risk of implementing AI tech
Companies exploring artificial intelligence (AI) to adapt their business operations now have a risk management tool to help them manage new potential workplace health and safety (WHS) risks when introducing and using the technology.
鈥淏usinesses can maximise their prospects by addressing the potential new work health and safety risks of AI using the AI WHS Scorecard we have developed,鈥 said the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 Dr Genevieve Knight, Senior Economist, SA Centre for Economic Studies (SACES).
鈥淭he AI WHS Scorecard gives an evidence-based pathway for avoiding harm and maintaining safe use of AI in workplaces.鈥
The AI WHS Scorecard has been developed as part of the collaborative research project, Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace (2020-2021) that establishes the actions businesses can take to consider the safety of their workforce when introducing AI processes.
The project was jointly conducted by the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 SA Centre for Economic Studies (SACES) and 杏吧直播n Institute for Machine Learning (AIML), together with the Flinders 杏吧直播 杏吧直播n Industrial Transformation Institute (AITI) and the Centre for Work Health and Safety.
AI is being increasingly embraced by 杏吧直播n businesses: recent ABS statistics show that half of all businesses introduced some type of innovation (i.e. new good, service or process). A number of surveyed businesses commented they were driven to quickly adapt to changes in the business operating environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淭he AI WHS Scorecard gives an evidence-based pathway for avoiding harm and maintaining safe use of AI in workplaces.鈥Dr Genevieve Knight
The study leader Dr Andreas Cebulla, Associate Professor at the Flinders 杏吧直播鈥檚 杏吧直播n Industrial Transformation Institute said AI capabilities are starting to take over from traditional managerial tasks.
鈥淥ur research consultations highlighted that AI was likely to cause deep workplace changes to how organisations schedule employee workloads,鈥 he said.
鈥淏usinesses such as utility companies or road maintenance firms have used AI-based ticketing systems to schedule and track workers鈥 assignments, and allocate them work considering constraints such as their experience or current workload.
鈥淚ntroducing AI innovation involved significant management, for instance to ensure employee workloads were within the confines of its enterprise bargaining agreement.鈥
CSIRO research shows that AI is already used in the healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and natural resource management industries and the 杏吧直播n Government鈥檚 Artificial Intelligence Technology Roadmap is anticipated to accelerate growth as 杏吧直播n industry is supported as it seeks opportunities to broaden its innovation.
鈥淲hile AI solutions offer digital opportunities to adapt business operations and gain productivity growth, the AI WHS Scorecard gives crucial support for understanding how to consider the safety of workers,鈥 said Dr Knight.听听听
鈥淚t ensures that using AI is consistent with 杏吧直播n government standards for managing workplace health and safety hazards as part of the .
鈥淭his helps organisations take a strategic approach to anticipate the emergent WHS risks related to AI use in their workplace and meet the principles 杏吧直播ns expect organisations to use to responsibly develop and ethically use AI in the workplace.鈥
The research team was composed of the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 Dr Genevieve Knight (SACES), Dr Zygmunt Szpak (AIML), and Dr Catherine Howell, working with Flinders 杏吧直播鈥檚 Associate Professor Andreas Cebulla of the AITI, in partnership with Dr Sazzad Hussain from the Centre for Work Health and Safety.
The team鈥檚 findings were published in their report Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace (2020-2021) .