Surveillance tech, algorithmic management systems, displacement by AI, and automated hiring tools contribute to increased reports of workplace discrimination, diminished autonomy, and reduced job quality for the world’s most vulnerable workers.
NEW YORK, NY, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2024 – The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and Open MIC today announce the publication of an investor brief, Dehumanization, Discrimination, and Deskilling: The Impact of Digital Tech on Low-Wage Workers.
The brief focuses on the increasingly pervasive role that digital technologies play in the workplace and how those technologies may harm workers, especially low-wage workers. It builds on the current work of the Advancing Worker Justice program at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and the deep research and expertise of Open MIC, an NGO that works with investors to foster greater accountability in the development and deployment of digital technologies. The goal of the brief is to highlight opportunities for shareholder engagement with portfolio companies as well as public policy advocacy.
“The research is very clear: digital technologies are having – and will continue to have – a dramatic impact on the lives of many millions of low-wage workers all around the globe,” said Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC. “At the same time, research also shows that a company’s bottom line and stock performance are directly related to how well the company manages its workforce. Our report is a call to action for investors, who have a critical opportunity to help shape corporate policies and practices that generate equitable outcomes for workers while boosting corporate performance and broader economic prosperity over the long term.”
The brief covers an array of workplace digital rights concerns including:
- AI and job displacement;
- Algorithmic management systems used to track worker productivity;
- How the gig economy suppresses workers’ wages;
- The exploitation of data workers screening for harmful content, and;
- A case study on how these technologies impact the direct care workforce.
For example, according to the brief: A recent global survey found that 57% of workers expect AI to change the way they do their current job and 36% expect it to replace their current job. And those changes are likely to most affect those who can least afford it. An analysis by McKinsey, the consulting company, finds that as AI expands further into the workplace, workers in lower-wage jobs are up to 14 times more likely to need to change occupations than those in highest-wage positions, and most will need additional skills to do so successfully. Women are 1.5 times more likely to need to move into new occupations than men.
Said Nadira Narine, Sr Director of ICCR’s Advancing Worker Justice Program, “The purpose of the brief is to make investors and companies aware of the potential risks when bringing new digital technologies into the workplace because it is all unfolding very rapidly. Management deploying these technologies may reap improved productivity and profits in the short term, but workers often cite the long-term dehumanization, discrimination, and deskilling they suffer as a result. Companies need to put worker welfare at the center of their decision-making regarding the use of workplace tech and adopt policies to mitigate potential harms before deploying them.”
The brief relies on interviews with 19 organizations in the fields of labor and technology as well as a substantial literature review. It outlines how core worker rights such as the right to privacy, to a safe workplace, and the right to organize are under threat from an array of workplace digital technologies. The brief also offers several recommended steps investors can take to engage their portfolio companies to prevent potential harm.
“App workers, particularly rideshare drivers, are facing significant challenges exacerbated by the rise of AI and digital technologies,” said Veronica Avila of Acre, an NGO that fights for racial and economic justice. “Misclassification, low wages, and relentless surveillance are rampant, turning the promise of flexibility into a reality of exploitation and diminished protections. As these technologies reshape the workforce, it is essential for investors to recognize their role in addressing these injustices. By advocating for responsible practices and prioritizing the rights of app workers, investors can help create a more equitable environment that values and protects all workers in the digital age.”
“As content moderators, we cleaned Facebook’s most devastating images and videos to keep the platform safe for users,” said Fasica Gebrekidan who worked for Meta for two years moderating violent content from conflict-affected areas in Africa before joining the Distributed AI Research Institute. “For years, we collected and absorbed extremely harmful content without proper psychological help and the scars are profound. Providing proper mental health care and a fair wage for content moderators is not so hard for these big tech companies and they need to be held accountable for doing so.”
The brief can be downloaded at this link.
CONTACT:
Susana McDermott
Director of Communications
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
201-417-9060 (mobile)
smcdermott@iccr.org
About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) is a broad coalition of more than 300 institutional investors collectively representing over $4 trillion in invested capital. ICCR members, a cross-section of faith-based investors, asset managers, pension funds, foundations, and other long-term institutional investors, have over 50 years of experience engaging with companies on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues that are critical to long-term value creation. ICCR members engage hundreds of corporations annually in an effort to foster greater corporate accountability. Visit our website www.iccr.org and follow us on Twitter/X (@iccronline), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
About Open MIC
Open MIC works to foster greater corporate accountability in the deployment and use of digital technologies. Our primary tools are shareholder engagement and other finance-focused strategies. Working with impact investors, Open MIC identifies, develops and supports campaigns that promote values of openness, equity, privacy, and diversity – values that provide long-term benefits for individuals, companies, the economy and the health of democratic society. Visit our website at www.openmic.org and follow us on Twitter/X (@openmicmedia), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
The post New Investor Brief Highlights Digital Tech’s Adverse Impact on Low-Wage Workers first appeared on Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.