HR pros can expect federal guidance on AI following executive order

The White House issued a sweeping executive order (EO) on artificial intelligence on Oct. 30, a first step toward regulating a technology that holds both promises and perils for the workforce.

The EO directs federal agencies to develop standards to ensure AI systems are “safe, secure, and trustworthy.” It will require some AI developers to share safety test results with the US government before their systems go public.

Recognizing that “AI is changing America’s jobs and workplaces,” the EO also calls for federal agencies to develop guidance to mitigate risks AI poses to workers, focusing on areas such as job displacement, workplace equity, and data collection and privacy.

Though the EO doesn’t include any policies that should impact HR pros’ day-to-day work right away, these principles and best practices, coupled with forthcoming reports on AI’s labor market effects, could inform how employers craft AI policies in the future.

Employer guidance is forthcoming. HR pros can expect to see the Department of Labor publish AI guidance within the next 180 days, according to the EO. The White House wants the agency to focus on a number of “specific steps for employers to take in regard to AI,” and cover the following topics:

• “Job displacement risks and career opportunities related to AI”
• “Labor standards and job quality, including issues related to the equity, protected-activity, compensation, health, and safety implications of AI in the workplace”
• How employers’ AI-related data collection may affect workers, “including transparency, engagement, management, and activity protected under worker-protection laws”

Additionally, the EO calls for two reports: One from the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers on the labor market effects of AI, and another from the secretary of Labor analyzing federal agencies’ capacity to support workers displaced by AI.

Implications for HR. It’s likely HR leaders, particularly those already using AI in their work, will be watching closely for these federal guidelines over the next six months.

“HR and business leaders are eager for clearly defined guidelines outlining acceptable use cases and accountability around AI—and what good looks like,” Cliff Jurkiewicz, VP of global strategy at Phenom, an AI-powered HR platform, told HR Brew via email. Those guidelines could specify, for example, that organizations are expected to use “auditable AI, explain its use to any interested party, comply with existing laws, and use AI in a responsible and ethical way.”

Jurkiewicz said “concern of the unknown is the biggest challenge for employers” when it comes to AI, including “not knowing what legislation will ultimately be put in place and how their organizations will be held accountable.”

In his remarks about the EO, President Joe Biden emphasized the need for Congressional legislation in order to more fully mitigate AI’s risks, and pledged that his administration will “support workers in every industry by defining their rights and defending them—to a fair wage, to organize, and as these other—more technologies emerge.”