AI POLICY LAB
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AI POLICY LAB
HARNESSING AI FOR DECENT WORK
TURIN, ITALY
5–7 Novembro 2025
Background
The rapid evolution of new technologies, particularly generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), has elevated the issue from long-term speculation to a pressing global policy priority. According to the ILO’s 2025 estimates, one in four jobs worldwide is exposed to GenAI to some degree, with women and clerical workers particularly affected. The main concern is not widespread job loss, but changes to work content, quality and autonomy. Exposure also varies greatly by region: in high-income countries, 34% of jobs fall into exposed occupations, compared to just 11% in low-income countries. These disparities—especially where gender and income intersect—highlight the need for equity-focused, inclusive policy responses grounded in social dialogue.
Despite increasingly rich analysis that highlights potential impacts, considerable uncertainty remains surrounding whether AI will drive productivity and changes to job quantity and quality. However, such analysis has largely been confined to advanced economies, leaving fewer concrete insights for low- and middle-income countries. At the same time, governments, social partners and other organizations are investing in the development and deployment of AI tools to improve the efficiency of services and increase access to information and data.
Given the fast-paced change, there is a strong demand for learning from these efforts to understand the impact of AI on the world of work and how countries are responding through policies and regulations, along with AI use cases. Social dialogue is already playing a crucial role in driving discussions on AI and the world of work, though many partners continue to face capacity constraints.
The AI Policy Lab responds to this need. Hosted by the ITCILO and facilitated by leading ILO experts, it offers an immersive, forward-looking space where constituents can collectively explore the impact of AI on labour markets and application of AI use cases to the world of work. Through scenario-building, foresight tools and participatory co-design, participants will explore employment-related transformations and policy responses suited to their own contexts.
The Lab aims not only to build technical insight and strategic capacity, but also to promote trust, dialogue, and convergence—essential ingredients for shaping fair and inclusive transitions in the age of AI.
Who attends this course?
The AI Policy Lab is designed for representatives of governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations from ILO member States who are actively engaged in shaping policy and institutional responses to digital transformation in the world of work. Participants may include officials from ministries of labour, employment, digital affairs, or planning; leaders of trade unions and employers’ associations; and technical experts involved in national policy design, digital governance, or labour market regulation.
The Lab is particularly suited to those seeking to deepen their understanding of AI’s implications for the world of work, exchange experiences across countries, and co-develop forward-looking policy ideas grounded in social dialogue and decent work principles.
Course Objectives
The AI Policy Lab is designed as a forward-looking platform where ILO constituents can actively share the latest insights and lessons on understanding impact, developing policies and regulations, and the development and deployment of AI. As AI continues to evolve and outpace traditional policy responses, the Lab aims to catalyse fresh thinking, foster inclusive dialogue, and move participants toward crafting practical, future-fit solutions.
The Lab will:
- Explore how AI is reshaping labour markets and employment relations, with a focus on identifying key policy challenges;
- Create a space for knowledge sharing and collaborative design, enabling participants to co-develop draft approaches tailored to their national or sectoral contexts;
- Strengthen the role of tripartite social dialogue in anticipating AI’s impacts and informing inclusive policy frameworks;
- Equip participants with tools, foresight techniques, and comparative insights to take a leadership role in shaping the governance of AI at national, regional and global levels.
By promoting shared understanding and co-creation, the Lab aims to contribute to the emergence of a more coherent, inclusive and anticipatory policy agenda for AI in the world of work.
The AI Policy Lab is structured into the following modules:
MODULE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE
This module focuses on stocktaking—examining the current impact of AI on jobs, tasks, and work organisation, alongside policy and regulatory responses taking shape globally. Drawing on the latest ILO research and comparative country experiences, participants will examine patterns of job augmentation versus automation, shifts in task composition, and disparities in exposure by gender, income level, and occupation. In parallel, they will analyse how governments and social partners are responding and identify key gaps and emerging tensions.
MODULE 2 – EXPLORING POSSIBLE FUTURES
Building on the macro context, this module delves into the structure and performance of labour markets in a context of ongoing economic and geopolitical fragility. It explores key labour market challenges such as informality, wage inequality, labour income share, and gender inequalities. It addresses job quality, wage dynamics and labour market segmentation, laying the groundwork for identifying structural policy responses. It sets out the policy opportunities and challenges in supporting robust and inclusive job-rich growth by highlighting the links between labour market dynamics and macroeconomic and structural conditions.
MODULE 3 – FROM INSIGHTS TO ACTION
The final module will take the form of a policy sandboxing exercise. Participants will work in small groups to co-develop draft responses to key governance challenges associated with employment impacts of AI. A central focus will be on promoting opportunities, while preventing or mitigating negative employment outcomes, including displacement, polarisation, and job quality deterioration. Other focus areas may include algorithmic management and worker protection, transparency and recourse mechanisms, inclusive access to AI-enabled opportunities, and institutional coordination. Groups will present policy or regulatory prototypes and receive peer feedback, with the aim of developing actionable concepts for further exploration or piloting in national settings.
Throughout the Lab, the focus will remain on fostering inclusive dialogue, drawing on diverse tripartite perspectives, and grounding all discussions in the overarching objective of promoting decent work in the age of AI.
Scholarships available
ITC-ILO will offer a limited number of fellowships which may cover part of the tuition fee. If eligible, early applicants will be given priority. Please make sure to apply at earliest convenience before the above mentioned deadline.