Project description
Assessing the legality of tracking workers by a wristband
Machines enabled by AI are present in nearly every aspect of our lives. And the workplace is no exception. AI and algorithms play a prominent role from the prescreening and hiring of candidates to their onboarding and beyond. For instance, workers can receive instructions through a digital app and they can be tracked by a wristband collecting sensitive information. Employers can also use metrics and customer reviews to set variable remuneration. The EU-funded Boss Ex Machina project will map these practices, evaluate their legal compliance and assess the resilience of the existing normative framework at the EU level. The findings will shed light on how new technologies are digitising management and how this fits with labour regulations.
Objective
Machines, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms are reshaping work and power relationships in a large number of fields, with far-reaching societal and legal consequences. For instance, workers can receive instructions through a digital app, be tracked by a wristband collecting sensitive information, while employers can take screenshots on a smartphone and use metrics and customer reviews to set variable remuneration. Today, cyber-physical devices make it possible to implement new practices of organizing, executing, monitoring and evaluating employees’ performance – in each and every industry. These tools determine a “genetic mutation” of prerogatives legitimately exercised by bosses. While such technologies have the potential to create a flexible environment for workers and managers, they can also strengthen authoritative tendencies. This study will map new “boss ex machina” practices, evaluate their legal compliance, and assess the resilience of the existing normative framework at the EU level.
This work will be qualitative in nature and adopt an innovative and pragmatic approach, by reviewing concrete examples where these modern practices have been implemented. I will collect a number of cases showing how the tech industry, social partners and policy-makers are addressing this phenomenon; then, I will consider the impact of new technologies of digitized management on contractual templates, labour regulation and social institutions. Finally, I will examine if and how the legal framework can accommodate these models without stifling innovation. The resulting theory will serve as a timely regulatory fitness and performance study to evaluate policy interventions recently put forward or implemented by several governments and institutions. This project aligns with the European Commission approach to AI and robotics, and the multiple initiatives taken by EU institutions in the context of the Pillar of Social Rights aimed at building a sustainable future of work.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence
- social sciences sociology governance
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering information engineering telecommunications mobile phones
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
40003 Segovia
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.