The 3-Step Playbook One Man Used To Successfully Protect His Job From AI
Not everyone is giving in to artificial intelligence. A Chinese tech company hired a quality assurance supervisor in 2022 to manage a large language model. Shortly after the LLM became advanced enough, the company offered to demote the worker and cut his pay by 40%. He refused the bad deal and was fired with a small severance.
This case went to court and the employee proceeded to win. He received a payout and his legal challenge now makes it more difficult for Chinese companies to lay people off because of AI innovations.
If your workplace is exploring AI and is looking for ways to replace employees, you can follow his playbook.
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Document Everything
The employee, who went by Zhou for anonymity purposes, made it a point to document that the company laid off workers due to AI. While this didn’t help Zhou regain his job, documenting these key details set the stage for a successful legal battle that resulted in a better severance.
A company can quickly remove you from internal databases, so it’s good to document any relevant resources you can still access. If you anticipate your employer is about to lay you off because of AI, it’s good to print documents containing that information, such as corporate emails. Jot down dates, people, events and anything else to build your case, because you may have to present it to court.
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Get the Legal System Involved
The tech company wasn’t going to give Zhou a higher severance. That’s why Zhou took his company to arbitration. This is a normal first step before a court case. The arbitrator ruled in Zhou’s favor, but after the tech company disagreed, they went to court. The court ruled in Zhou’s favor, resulting in a more favorable severance.
Here's where the documentation really paid off. Documenting everything first makes it easier to present compelling evidence that results in a more favorable verdict. It turns legal battles from a “he said, she said” battle to one with irrefutable information. That evidence helped the court reject the notion that the company had to lay off workers due to negative events like operational difficulties.
Look For the Next Opportunity
If you feel like your company has treated you unfairly, you can take them to court. However, if you were also laid off, you still have to look for the next opportunity. We only know that the employee was given an unfair severance, challenged it in court and won the case, not what he did next.
Zhou has relevant skills that will make his services in demand during the AI boom. He evaluated LLM outputs, which are gaining traction. Picking up a side hustle can diversify your income and give you a fallback option. It’s especially good to pursue a smaller income source if you believe your company may lay you off due to AI innovation in the future.
The Chinese court made it more expensive for companies to fire workers due to AI. It’s one small win and if similar court cases follow in China and elsewhere, workers’ rights regarding AI can improve over time.
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This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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