Federal Minister of Labor Heil wants to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world of work. Work will change, but not run out, says Heil. There is already a think tank in his ministry.
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil wants to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for millions of employees in Germany and shape it politically. “In Germany we will try to bring AI onto the streets,” said the SPD politician in Berlin.
According to Heil, by 2035 at the latest there will be no more jobs that have nothing to do with AI applications. Many people would wonder what text robots like ChatGPT did with their work. The latter, however, will not go out, but will change, said Heil:
When used well, AI can ensure that the world of work becomes more humane, that we prevent accidents at work, for example, that work is healthy.
Heil: Development can also be abused
However, politicians should not turn a blind eye to the fact that this development could be misused “to intensify work, put pressure on people and monitor them totally, for example”. Where there are major risks, strong rules are needed. Together with the interior department, Heil announced that his company would present key points for data protection for employees.
The SPD politician sees the development as positive overall. It’s about “that we want to build trust and use artificial intelligence”. In the world of work, this applies above all to small and medium-sized companies. AI should be made more accessible to them in the future.
In addition, the use of AI should also serve to make administration more efficient. As an example, Heil mentioned that the Federal Employment Agency can use AI to better bring job seekers and suitable vacancies together.
think tank im Ministry of Labour examines AI
In a separate department of his ministry, the “Digital Working Society Think Tank”, future key developments in the labor market are examined. The experts there use AI applications themselves, as Heil explained when presenting the department. An instrument called “Horizon Scanning” scans around 200 million text sources to identify such trends.
At the cabinet meeting at Schloss Meseberg last week, the government decided on a data strategy with which the federal government wants to create the technical and legal prerequisites for the use of AI in administration over the next two years.