'Don’t use AI for the sake of AI’: Eurofound and EU-OSHA call for a human-centred approach to AI deployment

AI has significant potential to not only improve Europe’s competitiveness and dynamism, but also to increase occupational safety and health through reducing exposure to hazardous tasks, and monitoring and assessing risks to workers. However, the means of deployment of the technology is crucial, as poorly implemented AI can increase risks to workers – particularly psychosocial risk. To ensure Europe’s economic and social stability, AI must assist, not replace, human decision-making.

The new episode of Eurofound Talks, published today, looks at whether AI is making work safer in Europe. Mary McCaughey speaks with Dragoș Adăscăliței, Research Officer at Eurofound, and Ioannis Anyfantis, Project Manager at the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health (EU-OSHA) about how AI deployment is influencing workers health, how AI policy in Europe compares to global competitors, and the decisions around AI that need to be made at EU, national and company level.

The episode comes as Eurofound publishes new findings from its European Working Conditions Survey 2024 showing that while around 12% of workers in Europe report using generative AI tools in their jobs, this figure conceals stark national differences, ranging from over 20% Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Finland to less than 5% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, North Macedonia, Italy and Greece.

Eurofound research indicates positive results from AI’s broader introduction to the workplace in recent years, including that the technology can foster increased interaction among colleagues. However, there are pitfalls; EU-OSHA’s fourth European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER), also carried out in 2024, notes a lack of consultation and human-centred deployment of AI in workplaces throughout Europe.

The discussion takes the listener from the macro-level geopolitical considerations around AI, to how it is impacting workers on an everyday basis throughout Europe, and is essential listening for those interested in, or working on the topic.

Listen to the episode for free on our dedicated page, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.