site.btaExpert Discusses New Labour Market Challenges Posed by AI

The most important issue when discussing artificial intelligence (AI) is whether national education systems are prepared to equip the current and future workforce for the challenges ahead, according to Zornitsa Rusinova, Chair of Bulgaria's Economic and Social Council. She warns that in the AI era, society is facing a different reality because it has long moved beyond a predictable labour market. "It is impossible to foresee how technologies will develop and how they will reshape the economy and the labour market," she said during the Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia on Monday.

The forum is the largest platform for discussions on sustainable development and economic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. It is organized by the web portal Dir.bg. The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is among its media partners.

Rusinova went on to say that technology and AI are creating new forms of inequality, which means that the social contract must take digital transformation and AI into account.

She noted that it remains difficult to assess the full impact of artificial intelligence. Citing statistics, she said that around 10% of companies with more than 10 employees across the European Union were using AI by the end of last year, with the figure increasing by just over 3 percentage points over the previous two years. She added that neither Europe nor the wider international community currently has unified accounting standards for AI, making it difficult to assess the scale of corporate investment in its implementation.

Rusinova also commented on the regulatory and legal framework surrounding the adoption of AI. She recalled that Europe already has a framework in place for the application of artificial intelligence. However, she argued that because Europe is not the owner of AI technologies, questions remain about the appropriate level of regulation and the extent to which regulation may affect competitiveness.

According to Rusinova, a growing number of European initiatives are seeking to regulate sectors in which AI is playing an increasingly important role. As an example, she pointed to the European Commission's directive on so-called platform workers – individuals who work and gain experience through digital platforms. The directive is due to be transposed into Bulgarian law this year, and the Economic and Social Council has already issued recommendations on how this should be done.

"The directive is important because it must guarantee people's rights," she said.

Rusinova added that there is increasing discussion about legislation governing the use of algorithms in recruitment and other human resources processes. In her view, the issue is particularly important because the objective assessment of an individual's abilities and skills must not be compromised by automated decision-making.