El Ghaoui: Artificial Intelligence Will Reshape Individuals’ Relationship with Work Time and Enhance Self-Employment
Mohammed El Ghaoui, Minister of Economic Integration, Small Enterprises, Employment, and Skills, stated that artificial intelligence will profoundly impact the community’s relationship with work time, encouraging an increasing number of individuals toward self-employment and flexible contractual work. He made this remark during his participation in an interactive dialogue at the annual forum of the Global Alliance for Social Justice in Geneva, titled “The Engine of Change: Artificial Intelligence in the Service of Social Impact.”
The minister explained that this transformation necessitates governments’ support for individuals wishing to organize their professional lives differently, noting that many young people around the world are turning to flexible work patterns that do not require significant capital to start. He considered this trend to be more of a lifestyle choice than a financial one, emphasizing the right of these individuals to restructure their relationship with time through multiple income sources and involvement in various projects.
El Ghaoui highlighted the impact of generative artificial intelligence on the nature of work, either by enhancing job efficiency—requiring skill development—or by converting jobs into automated tasks, necessitating a redistribution of resources. He affirmed that artificial intelligence is not only a technical or financial challenge but also a societal issue. He stressed that developing countries can benefit from it to leapfrog developmental stages, provided that youth are qualified and a flexible legal framework is established to better manage time and foster entrepreneurial spirit and creativity.
The minister pointed out that artificial intelligence will be the primary driver for a significant increase in self-employment rates over the next fifteen years, anticipating that this rate may exceed 30 to 40 percent of the workforce. He called for the adoption of global governance for artificial intelligence to ensure its utilization as a lever for development, particularly in developing and less developed countries, underscoring the importance of the ethical dimension that requires multilateral international coordination.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 113th International Labor Conference from June 2 to 13 in Geneva, included the participation of Celeste Drake, Deputy Director-General of the International Labor Organization, along with government stakeholders, social partners, and experts. The discussion focused on the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence, its potential use by governments and stakeholders, and explored mechanisms for monitoring and collaboration on socially impactful AI technologies.
The meeting drew on the outcomes of the AI in Work Summit held in February in Paris, where alliance partners launched a network of observatories on artificial intelligence and labor, reaffirming their commitment to advancing this shared international agenda.
