The BIAS project at ICONS'26 in Dublin
Carlotta Rigotti and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga attended the ICONS'26 conference. As part of the BIAS project they joined a panel on AI and the future of work: Legal challenges and opportunities.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in recruitment and human resources management, promising efficiency while simultaneously raising serious concerns about accountability, transparency, and the protection of fundamental rights. From automated screening tools to data-driven performance monitoring, AI systems are reshaping how access to work is governed and how labour relations are organised. The panel explored the legal challenges and opportunities arising from these developments, with a particular focus on the European Union's evolving legislative and policy framework.
Bringing together perspectives on the Artificial Intelligence Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Platform Work Directive, and the recent Digital Omnibus proposal, the panel examined whether this emerging legal ecosystem can effectively safeguard the rights of job applicants and workers. The discussion combined legal and doctrinal analysis with empirical findings and interdisciplinary insights, and placed strong emphasis on cross-sector collaboration - in particular, the role of harmonised standards, with reference to the work of the CEN-CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 21 on bias.
Overall, the panel offered practical guidance for scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders seeking to align technological innovation with social justice, worker empowerment, and sustainable governance in the automated workplace.
Carlotta and Eduard joined the panel on AI and the future of work: Legal challenges and opportunities as part of the BIAS project and discussed these issues alongside Antoni Mut Piña (Universitat de les Illes Balears), Anne Joppe (Utrecht University), and (University of Ottawa), who each brought great perspectives from platform work, data protection, and comparative law.
See the website of the ICONS' 26 conference for more information about the event.