A plant manager proudly told the union leader: “Soon, AI and automation will take care of most of our production problems. Machines don’t come late, don’t demand overtime, don’t file grievances, and don’t go on strike.”
The union leader smiled and replied: “You are right, Sir. But machines also don’t give you ideas after the shift is over. They don’t stay back when the plant is in crisis. They don’t persuade their colleagues to accept a difficult change. And they will never trust you or ask you to trust them.”
The manager remained silent. The union leader continued: “The real challenge of AI is not how many people machines can replace. It is whether we can make the people who remain believe that they still matter.”
The above conversation captures the emerging challenge of Industrial Relations in the age of AI.
Industrial Relations in the AI age has to move from managing labour to managing the human & technology partnership. Artificial Intelligence is entering the...
