The all-hi-tech right that forgets workers' rights

The advent of digitalization is bringing a revolution in the culture of safety at work . This impact is expressed in a strong innovation of strategies related to the perception of risks. The result of this process, if carried out correctly, will be the strengthening of the most important strategy to support safety protection: prevention.

This cultural revolution has been framed in an interesting Report by the International Labour Organization, published on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2025, celebrated on April 28th. The Report is entitled “ Revolutionizing health and safety at work. Artificial intelligence and digitalization in the world of work” . The first chapter of the Report, which has a significant title, “ How digitalization is transforming health and safety at work” , explains that “ digitalization is reshaping the world of work , introducing innovative practices, promoting new sectors and redesigning work environments” .

Continuing to define the framework, the Report continues by saying that “artificial intelligence and digital tools offer companies important opportunities to improve safety and health at work. If designed and implemented effectively, these technologies help mitigate occupational risks, reduce injuries and occupational diseases and improve efficiency, productivity and performance. One of the main benefits of digitalization is the ability for workers to anticipate risks and remove themselves from environments and workplaces in case of danger, including exposure to chemicals, extreme temperatures, radiation and high-risk machinery. Furthermore, AI optimizes the organization of work, simplifying processes, automating repetitive and physically demanding tasks and improving the distribution of workload, as well as reducing both physical and mental stress. AI-based systems and tools improve workplace safety by identifying hazards, monitoring environmental conditions and predicting equipment failures. Furthermore, digitalization supports career development through personalized upskilling and reskilling opportunities, ensuring that workers can adapt to evolving work needs and are adequately prepared to address new health and safety risks at work. However, it is important to note that the benefits of digitalisation are not universally shared”.

Because every coin has its downside. Therefore, “ although digitalisation offers numerous benefits in terms of Occupational Health and Safety, it can pose significant risks that need to be prevented and carefully managed. Errors in human-robot interaction, ergonomic challenges and exposure to noise and vibration hazards are some of the potential risks associated with the use of digital technologies. Wearable and smart devices, if improperly designed, can cause physical strain, while unmanned aircraft, such as drones and head-mounted displays can pose risks of injury, loss of balance and vision problems. Technological advances can also lead to work intensification, job insecurity and ‘techno-stress’ , as workers are under increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly evolving tools and processes. ” The risks are, in short, multiple: “The blurring of boundaries between work and private life due to mobile and online working can contribute to burnout, while invasive surveillance and constant monitoring can violate privacy and reduce work autonomy. […] The risks associated with decision-making based on on Artificial Intelligence are the fragmentation of tasks, the loss of job satisfaction and the sense of partiality , with the risk of marginalizing certain groups of workers and worsening inequalities at work”.

There is therefore much to explore, debate, regulate, but above all to guide and govern this process in order to use the benefits that derive from it to the maximum possible level while minimizing the risks. There is a great urgency for a broad and extremely concrete discussion that involves work and business organizations, those involved in technology development, as well as political decision-makers. The clear demonstration, after all, is precisely in a recent, incongruous legislative act. We are referring to the bill on Artificial Intelligence , initiated by the Government, now under discussion in Parliament. This bill, already approved by the Senate and then brought to the Chamber, provides for the investment of one billion euros for cybersecurity, telecommunications and 5G. What is completely missing from the provision is the digitalization of workplace safety. Not a single euro is referred to this revolution brought about by digitalization in prevention, the importance of which is demonstrated by studies such as that of the Oil and by the numerous technological applications that are being created and marketed, in this regard, throughout the world.

The Italian Government risks being the great absentee in this process that could, instead, give the impetus to finally break down that annual threshold of one thousand victims of work that is, at present, insurmountable. We hope that the debate in the Chamber (is the Labour Commission involved?) will allow the text to be corrected by providing an explicit connection between the identification of technological sectors, protection of the psychophysical integrity of workers (only superficially referred to in Article 11) and resources allocated to investments in technologies related to health and safety in the workplace.

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Caesar Damian