The main topic of the conference ‘Social and economic consequences of the digital transformation’ organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) was the social and economic consequences of the digital transformation, with emphasis on the challenges and changes taking place on the labour market and the wide availability of digital technologies. Participants at Monday's event were welcomed by Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, together with EESC President Oliver Röpke.

In her speech, the Minister raised the issue of the development of artificial intelligence in the context of the threat of technological unemployment: ‘An important problem and at the same time a challenge is the impact of AI development on the labour market. In Poland, 3.68 million people work in the 20 professions most likely to be reduced due to the impact of artificial intelligence. For some of them, a complete retraining will be necessary. This does not mean, of course, that all workers in the affected industries will lose jobs in their professions. According to prognoses, for some of them, the change will consist of acquiring new skills and modifying the way they do their jobs. The pressure to develop skills is likely to increase the number of quality jobs.’

The impact of AI development on the labour market

The Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy pointed out how to prepare for the changes on the labour market caused by the development of AI: ‘A lot depends here on the actions of the State and EU institutions, on legislation that can follow the technological changes. We should also start thinking seriously about the need to reduce statutory working hours as a response to the dynamic development of AI. We must promote the learning of adult workers and the improvement of their competences. We need to launch specific programmes to help them adapt to the changes.'

Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk also spoke about the need to protect from AI creative professions with an impact on cultural heritage and language: ‘Is it necessary to replace the voice of the living human being, an actor, by the artificial speech generator e.g., in audiobooks, dubbing, computer games, radio or even advertising? Do we want to leave behind a world in which specific human skills, creativity, the ability to express human desires and emotions have been replaced by the result of an algorithm? It is not too late to create a catalogue of professions specifically protected from the influence of AI. This is the last moment to start a serious debate on this topic with all stakeholders, social organisations and trade unions.'