Knowledge

TELLES was represented at the 9th Ibero-American and European Congress of Labour and Social Security Law, which took place between 8th and 10th of May at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto.

Gonçalo Pinto Ferreira, partner and head of the Labour and Social Security practice area, and Eunice Correia, associate in the same practice area, took part in the initiative by presenting their paper entitled “AI Blindness”.

This year's congress, under the motto “The Impact of Growing Transformations in Society on Labour Law”, brought together leading academics, professionals and researchers to debate the emerging phenomena that are having a profound impact on the labour market.

In their presentation, the TELLES’ lawyers reflected on the impact of artificial intelligence on labour law, critically analysing the challenges posed by integrating these systems into the Portuguese market and legal system. Among other aspects, the paper addresses the use of AI as a decision-making tool by employers, for example in recruitment processes or termination of employment, and its potential to replace human workers, even in highly qualified roles such as those in the legal sector.

“The aim is to assess the consequences of the ‘blindness’ attributable to AI on two levels: (i) on the level of AI as an actor in the employer's decision-making [...] and (ii) on the level of AI as a potential substitute for the worker, not only in less qualified professions [...], but also in highly qualified professions with a high degree of sophistication and creativity [...]”, reads the abstract of the paper presented by TELLES’ lawyers.

TELLES' participation in this congress highlights its ongoing commitment to critical legal thinking, as well as to analysing the challenges that technological innovation poses to law, labour, and society.