GLOBAL FORUM ON PHYSICAL AI FOR DECENT WORK

AI-powered robotics and Physical AI are rapidly moving from experimental environments into real world deployment across manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, education, care and other service sectors. Humanoid and semi-humanoid systems are increasingly capable of interacting with people, navigating dynamic environments and supporting service-related tasks, while advances in multimodal AI and large language models are accelerating their practical applications.

At the same time, many countries are facing growing labour shortages and demographic pressures, particularly in labour-intensive service sectors such as caregiving, hospitality, and domestic work. In several contexts, demand for these services is increasing while workforce availability is declining, creating mounting pressure on institutions, labour markets and social systems. This situation creates a highly dynamic interplay of opportunities and threats for workers, businesses, and clients alike. Might workers be displaced? Or could the technology be deployed in a way that it will increase the productivity, wages, working conditions and quality of service? What are the overarching employment effects in terms of quantity and quality of jobs? What are the repercussions for skills and training needs for workers in these sectors? And what policy levers need to be set to manage these transitions with a human-centred perspective that benefits both workers and consumers?

Technological adoption is progressing rapidly, while governance frameworks, institutional preparedness and public policy responses remain fragmented and underdeveloped. This creates an urgent need for human-centred and evidence-based policy dialogue on how Physical AI can augment, rather than substitute, human labour, while supporting decent work, social justice and sustainable service provision; and what policies and institutions are needed to guide these processes responsibly.

In response to the rapid emergence of Physical AI and robotics in labour-intensive service sectors, the Global Forum on Physical AI for Decent Work is organised under the umbrella of the Turin School of Development (TSD), highlighting the importance of bringing together academia and policy makers, to drive evidence-based approaches for human-centred transitions and decent work.

The Forum aims to offer a global platform for policy dialogue and knowledge exchange on the impact of Physical AI and robotics on labour-intensive service sectors, with a particular focus on the potential employment impacts, governance, skills, decent work, as well as the required policy needs and approaches to guide human-centred transitions.

The Forum will take place as a three-day event at the UN Campus in Turin in December 2026, combining policy dialogue, expert exchanges and practice-oriented discussions. It will be held in a hybrid format, welcoming both in-person and online participants. Participants joining in person at the UN Campus in Turin will also have the opportunity to experience AI-enabled and robotic systems first-hand, adding a practical and interactive dimension to the discussions.

The Forum contributes to a stronger global policy dialogue on the impact and governance of Physical AI in the world of work. It will yield emerging answers to the questions on the potential labour market impact of these emerging technologies as well as the required policy responses to manage human-centred transitions that benefit workers, businesses, and consumers alike.

Outputs include:

• Strengthened global policy dialogue on Physical AI and service-sector transitions for better labour market outcomes
• Cross-sectoral and international partnerships
• Greater understanding of the possible impacts of Physical AI on labour markets in the service sectors
• Knowledge-sharing and dissemination
• Inputs for future training and research initiatives
• Increased academic and policy collaboration
• Follow-up capacity development activities and pilot initiatives

The Forum is conceived as part of a longer-term strategic stream on Robotics and the Future of Work, combining research, experimentation, capacity development and global convening activities under a human-centred and future-oriented framework.

Over the three days, the Forum will be structured around a set of interconnected thematic pillars that move from understanding the transformation underway to identifying the policy and institutional responses needed to guide it.

The programme combines policy dialogue, expert inputs, comparative perspectives and practice-oriented exchanges.

The Forum is structured around three interconnected thematic pillars:

1. Global Perspectives on Physical AI and the Future of Service Work

Emerging applications of robotics and Physical AI across labour-intensive service sectors, including hospitality, logistics, education, public services and customer interaction. Comparative perspectives on robotics adoption, labour transitions and future scenarios across different regional and economic contexts.

2 Labour Scarcity, Demographic Change and the Care Economy

The role of robotics and assistive technologies in contexts characterized by ageing societies,

workforce shortages and increasing demand for care and social services.

3 Skills, Learning and Human–Machine Collaboration

The implications of Physical AI for skills development, workplace transformation, lifelong learning

and new forms of human–machine collaboration

Cross-cutting focus: Governance, Ethics and Human-Centred Robotics

Across all three pillars, the Forum will examine governance frameworks, ethical considerations and public policy approaches to ensure that Physical AI supports decent work, inclusion and social justice

The initiative seeks to bring together policymakers, labour market analysts, skills and TVET practitioners, researchers, social partners, international organizations, development institutions, robotics companies and innovation ecosystems to jointly explore opportunities, risks and policy implications related to the deployment of Physical AI in service environments.