Amid the ongoing staff reductions at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in Ontario, some employees who have been informed about the layoffs, along with their union, are expressing worries about the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) within the organization.
The Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU), which represents workers at WSIB, disclosed the job eliminations earlier in the month. A total of 566 individuals, including both unionized and non-unionized staff, were impacted, according to OCEU president Harry Goslin in a recent interview with CBC News.
One affected employee, Brittnee Gauthier, who worked as a post-adjustment case manager in Sudbury, highlighted that WSIB had been actively promoting the internal adoption of a new AI tool for claim summaries before the layoffs. She expressed concerns about the potential dominance of AI within the company.
Gauthier mentioned, “I believe AI can be beneficial. We were all enthusiastic about the new tool until we realized it was rendering us redundant. This makes me anxious about who might be next.”
President Goslin of the OCEU raised apprehensions about how WSIB will manage claims moving forward, suggesting that the job cuts are primarily aimed at automating tasks.
WSIB stated that the layoffs were a challenging decision but emphasized their commitment to modernizing operations and providing valuable support to the people of Ontario while ensuring efficiency for businesses in the region.
Records from WSIB show a $7.3 million contract awarded to Owl.co for a claims summary tool subscription in February. Furthermore, WSIB CEO Jeff Lang is scheduled to discuss the deployment of AI on a large scale at a conference in Las Vegas alongside Owl.co CEO Sean Merat in October.
When asked about the connection between the AI tools implementation and recent layoffs, WSIB mentioned that technology has long been utilized to streamline administrative tasks and improve efficiency.
Employees who were let go stated that they received notification through a brief group call, leaving many uncertainties. Gauthier expressed her distress over the news, especially after dedicating a decade to WSIB, fearing that injured workers would bear the consequences of the layoffs.
In response to concerns about the impact on injured workers, Goslin highlighted the importance of evaluating each case on its merits, emphasizing the need for proper programming and safeguards in AI systems to maintain service quality for claimants.
Sanjeev Kapoor, a WSIB customer service representative in Sudbury who was laid off, and his wife shared concerns about the ongoing push towards AI integration at the workplace and speculated about potential further job cuts.
Kapoor revealed that employees were tasked with training an AI system, critiquing its responses for accuracy. Complaints about the reliability of WSIB’s AI tools were also noted by Goslin.
WSIB did not provide specific details regarding the accuracy of its AI tools or plans for additional AI programs when questioned.
The union expressed grievances regarding the lack of transparency in disclosing technological changes and has initiated freedom of information requests. WSIB, although funded by individual companies and not tax dollars, operates as a provincial Crown corporation under the oversight of Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development.