The Arbitrariness of the AI-boss: a republican critique of UK Labour Law

The delegation of human resources functions to the “AI-boss” is growing. Algorithms, data processing and AI support, or even undertake, decision-making about the recruitment, management, evaluation and discipline of people at work on behalf of employers. Philip Pettit’s theory of freedom as non-domination, meaning freedom from another’s power of arbitrary interference, is a valuable lens through which to analyse this phenomenon. The AI-boss intensifies existing aspects of domination, creating more possibilities for interference by employers and heightening the arbitrariness experienced by workers. The jurisdictional focus is upon the response of UK labour law to this rapidly changing prospect, finding inadequacies and deficiencies in the law’s capacity to guarantee workers freedom from algorithmic domination. A stronger response is required: this piece proposes a path forward for the UK, including strengthened rights to information and consultation and broadly applicable prohibitions on technologies that generate an unacceptable risk of domination of people at work. The proposed regulatory approach would enable working people to participate in decisions about the deployment of the AI-boss, freeing them from this form of arbitrariness in their working lives.