Future of work Archives | Page 3 of 238 | Digital Watch Observatory

Quantum computing gains stability boost from NVIDIA error correction model

NVIDIA has strengthened its position in the emerging quantum computing sector through a new family of AI models designed to improve calibration and error correction in quantum systems. Rather than building its own quantum processing hardware, the company continues to focus on hybrid computing architectures that combine classical GPUs with quantum processors.

The new system reportedly improves quantum error correction decoding by up to 2.5 times in speed and three times in accuracy, addressing one of the most persistent barriers to scalable quantum computing. High error rates have long limited the practical deployment of quantum systems, making stability and fast correction central challenges for the industry.

NVIDIA has also expanded tools such as NVQLink and CUDA-Q, which allow quantum systems to integrate more directly with its existing GPU infrastructure. Together, these tools support workloads that can be distributed across classical and quantum environments, reinforcing NVIDIA’s role as a foundational infrastructure provider rather than a direct builder of quantum hardware.

The strategy positions NVIDIA to benefit regardless of how quantum computing develops. Whether hybrid systems become the dominant model or classical GPUs remain the primary computational layer for quantum processors, NVIDIA aims to remain embedded in the infrastructure stack that supports future quantum workloads.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Canada launches a major youth skills funding for digital economy transition

The Government of Canada has announced a C$23.8 million funding initiative to strengthen youth skills for the evolving digital economy through the Digital Skills for Youth programme.

The announcement, led by Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, forms part of a broader effort to prepare younger generations for technological change across the labour market.

The initiative will support training and work experience opportunities for post-secondary graduates, with a focus on emerging fields such as AI, cybersecurity, big data, and automation. By connecting young people with employers, the programme aims to narrow the gap between education and the practical digital skills needed in modern industries.

Funding will be distributed over two years and is open to a wide range of organisations, including for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, public institutions, Indigenous organisations, and provincial or territorial bodies. The programme also includes a flexibility measure for participants in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, where post-secondary education is not required.

The initiative builds on earlier rounds of the programme, which have already supported 6,900 youth internships across Canada since 2018.

Authorities say digital transformation is reshaping employment structures, making targeted skills development increasingly important. In that sense, the initiative is aimed not only at improving employability but also at helping prevent wider inequalities in access to technology-driven opportunities.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

GPT-5.5 pushes AI deeper into agentic work

OpenAI has released GPT-5.5 as its latest push towards more capable agentic AI, presenting the model as better suited to complex, multi-step digital work across coding, research, analysis, and enterprise tasks.

The company frames it as a system designed to carry more of the work itself, moving beyond isolated prompt-response interactions towards fuller execution across digital workflows.

According to OpenAI, the model’s biggest gains are in software engineering, tool use, and knowledge work. GPT-5.5 improves performance on coding and workflow benchmarks, strengthens long-horizon reasoning, and handles complex digital tasks with greater efficiency while maintaining earlier latency standards.

OpenAI also says the model performs better across documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and data analysis, reflecting a broader effort to make AI more useful across full professional workflows rather than only as an assistant for isolated tasks.

The release also highlights stronger performance in scientific and technical research, alongside expanded safety testing and tighter safeguards for higher-risk capabilities.

The wider significance of GPT-5.5 lies in its reflection of the next phase of AI competition. The focus is shifting from better answers to more reliable execution across real-world digital work, with growing implications for productivity, oversight, and governance.

Why does it matter?

GPT-5.5 signals a shift from AI as a passive tool to AI as an active digital operator that can complete full workflows across coding, research, and business systems with minimal human supervision.

Over time, such capability could reshape productivity, speed up development cycles, and shift competitive advantage toward those best integrating autonomous AI while managing safety and governance risks.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Australia targets three million learners under AI workforce strategy

Three million people in Australia will be trained in workforce-ready AI skills under Microsoft’s largest AI skilling commitment, set to run through the end of 2028.

The initiative is delivered in partnership with government, industry, education providers and community organisations. It aligns with Australia’s National AI Plan to strengthen national capability and ensure the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

The programme builds on earlier skilling targets that exceeded expectations, including milestones of one million and 300,000 learners achieved ahead of schedule.

It is supported by Microsoft’s broader A$25 billion (USD 18 billion) investment in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and workforce development, strengthening long-term national AI capability.

Training will focus on three core areas:

Future workforce development through education systems;
Upskilling of the current workforce;
Expanded access for community groups.

Partnerships with institutions such as TAFE NSW, universities, employers and trade organisations are designed to scale practical AI learning, while also addressing productivity pressures and evolving labour market demands.

Community-focused initiatives aim to reduce digital inequality and broaden access to AI skills, particularly among underrepresented groups. Programmes supporting Indigenous-led organisations and social impact groups aim to widen participation in the digital economy and promote inclusive, responsible AI adoption.

Why does it matter?

The initiative reflects a broader shift towards system-wide AI capability building across education, industry and communities.

Expanding AI skills is intended to support productivity, reduce workforce fragmentation and ensure more balanced access to emerging technologies. It also addresses risks of uneven adoption and widening digital inequality as AI becomes central to economic development.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

ILO sets first global framework for AI use in manufacturing sector

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has adopted its first-ever tripartite conclusions on AI in manufacturing, marking a significant policy step in addressing the sector’s digital transformation.

Agreed following a five-day technical meeting in Geneva, the framework brings together governments, employers and workers to shape how AI is integrated into one of the world’s largest employment sectors.

These ILO conclusions respond to the growing impact of AI on manufacturing, which employs nearly 500 million people globally.

Rather than focusing solely on productivity gains, the framework emphasises the need to align technological adoption with labour standards, ensuring that innovation supports decent work, strengthens enterprises and contributes to inclusive economic growth.

Key provisions address skills development, lifelong learning and occupational safety, alongside the protection of fundamental rights at work.

The framework also highlights the importance of social dialogue, recognising that collaboration between stakeholders is essential to managing AI-driven change and mitigating potential disruptions to employment and working conditions.

An agreement that reflects a broader effort to balance efficiency with worker protection, rejecting the notion that productivity and labour rights are competing priorities.

Instead, it positions AI as a tool that, if properly governed, can enhance both economic performance and job quality within the manufacturing sector.

The conclusions will be submitted to the ILO Governing Body in November 2026 for formal approval, with the intention of guiding national policies and international approaches to AI deployment in industry.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

ILO report warns of rising workplace risks amid digital transformation

More than 840,000 deaths each year are linked to psychosocial risks at work, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization. Factors such as long working hours, job insecurity, and workplace harassment are identified as key contributors to serious health conditions.

These risks are linked to cardiovascular and mental health disorders, causing around 45 million lost years of healthy life each year. Economic impacts are significant, with losses estimated at 1.37% of global GDP due to reduced productivity and health-related costs.

The report highlights that risks stem from how work is designed, organised, and managed. High demands, low control, unclear roles, and poor workplace policies can create harmful environments if not addressed through structured safety and health systems.

Ongoing shifts in the labour market, including digitalisation, AI, and remote work, are reshaping these risks. While such changes may increase pressure on workers, they also present opportunities to improve working conditions if managed with clear policies and preventive measures.

The findings reinforce that workplace design is a major public health and economic issue, not just an organisational concern. Without proactive management, psychosocial risks may grow with digital transformation, affecting productivity, labour stability, and economic resilience.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Employee monitoring grows at Meta as AI overhaul accelerates

Meta has introduced a new internal tool to track employee activity, including keystrokes and mouse movements, as part of efforts to train its AI systems. The company says the data will help improve AI models designed to perform everyday digital tasks.

According to company statements, the tracking is limited to Meta-owned devices and applications, with safeguards in place to protect sensitive information. The initiative reflects a broader strategy to gather real-world usage data to enhance the performance and accuracy of AI tools.

The move has raised concerns among employees, some of whom view the monitoring as intrusive, particularly amid ongoing job cuts and reduced hiring. Reports indicate that Meta has significantly scaled back recruitment while increasing investment in AI development.

The company has committed substantial resources to AI, with plans to expand spending and accelerate model development. Internal tracking is positioned as part of a broader shift toward automation, as firms seek to reshape workflows and productivity through AI.

The development highlights growing tensions between AI innovation and workplace privacy. Increased reliance on employee data to train AI systems may reshape labour practices, raising questions about surveillance, consent, and the balance between technological advancement and workers’ rights.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Malaysia aligns workplace safety reforms with ILO standards

Malaysia is stepping up efforts to strengthen occupational safety and health by aligning national reforms with International Labour Organisation standards, advancing the implementation of key labour conventions and preparing for a new phase of policy development. Convention No. 155 provides the core framework for national occupational safety and health policy and employer responsibilities, while Convention No. 187 focuses on building a national system and programme for continuous improvement.

A national workshop in Kuala Lumpur brought together representatives of government, employers, workers, and industry to improve coordination on occupational safety and health governance. The discussions centred on how to strengthen the implementation of Conventions No. 155 and No. 187 through a more coherent national framework, reflecting the ILO’s broader view that effective workplace safety depends on a connected system of policy, institutions, and social dialogue rather than isolated legal measures.

Attention is also turning to Malaysia’s next National Occupational Safety and Health Policy and the OSH Master Plan 2026–2030, which are expected to shape the country’s longer-term approach to workplace risk prevention and institutional coordination. In ILO terms, that matters because national OSH frameworks are meant to combine policy, system, and programme into a single structure for continuous improvement.

The initiative points to a broader emphasis on shared responsibility for safer workplaces. Convention No. 155 places obligations on governments to maintain a coherent national policy and on employers to ensure safe working environments, while Convention No. 187 promotes a preventative safety and health culture through cooperation with employers and workers. That makes sustained coordination between public authorities, businesses, and labour representatives central to any credible reform effort.

The wider significance of the move lies in how Malaysia is linking labour standards to governance capacity. Aligning national policy with international standards can help clarify responsibilities, strengthen enforcement, and support more consistent prevention across sectors. Over time, that can contribute not only to safer working conditions, but also to more resilient labour markets and more predictable operating environments for employers and workers alike.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

ILO warns against treating AI exposure indicators as job-loss forecasts

A new brief from the International Labour Organisation argues that AI exposure indicators should not be treated as forecasts of job losses, even as they become a more common tool for assessing how artificial intelligence could reshape work.

According to the ILO, these indicators can help identify where jobs may be affected by AI. Still, they do not show whether workers will actually be displaced or how labour markets will adjust in practice.

The brief examines how different exposure measures are constructed and why they often produce different results. Earlier approaches to automation focused mainly on routine and lower-skilled work, while newer AI-related models point to greater exposure in higher-skilled cognitive occupations, including roles in finance, computing, business, and education. That shift reflects the growing capacity of AI systems to perform tasks once seen as less vulnerable to automation.

The ILO stresses that exposure does not necessarily lead to job loss. Most indicators rely on static task descriptions and estimate what may be technically feasible, rather than what employers will actually adopt or what makes economic sense. They do not capture whether automation is profitable, whether it improves productivity, or how firms, workers, and institutions may respond over time.

The brief also argues that AI-related disruption is unlikely to stay confined to a narrow set of occupations. Jobs are linked through shared skills, career mobility, and workplace structures, meaning that changes in one part of the labour market can influence broader employment patterns elsewhere. That makes simple occupation-by-occupation risk scores less useful on their own than they may appear.

For that reason, the ILO says exposure indicators should be used as early warning signals rather than stand-alone labour market forecasts. It recommends combining them with evidence on employment, wages, job transitions, and broader economic and institutional conditions to build a more realistic picture of how AI is affecting work.

The broader significance of the brief is that it pushes back against the simplest narratives about AI and employment. Rather than asking how many jobs AI will eliminate, the ILO is urging policymakers to focus on where work may change, how quickly adoption may happen, and what kinds of institutions, skills, and labour protections will shape the outcome.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

The Egyptian government emphasises the role of AI in the economy

The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt has highlighted the role of AI in supporting national development, according to an official statement. The focus forms part of broader efforts to advance digital transformation.

The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt emphasised that AI technologies are being integrated into key sectors to improve efficiency and support economic growth. The approach reflects a wider strategy to modernise public services.

The statement also underlined the importance of building technical capacity and strengthening infrastructure to support AI adoption. This includes developing skills and enhancing institutional readiness.

The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt presented these efforts as part of long-term planning to expand digital capabilities and innovation in Egypt.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!