CESI@noon on Europe’s digital transition: The role of workers in advancing businesses’ digitalisation

The discussion showed that Europe’s digital transition is not simply a question of technological uptake. Digitalisation and AI can raise productivity, improve services, reduce repetitive tasks and support better decision-making. But whether they ultimately improve working life depends on how technologies are introduced, for what purpose, and who has a voice in shaping them.

For CESI, workers must be participants in digital transformation – not merely its end users. Their practical knowledge of workplaces and processes can help identify where technology genuinely adds value, improve implementation and spot risks before they become costly problems. Meaningful and prior information, consultation and participation should therefore start before even the purchasing, particularly for AI, continue throughout the technology’s lifecycle.

This is not only a matter of fairness. Worker participation can strengthen the business case for digitalisation itself. Technologies deliver their potential when people understand them, trust them, have the skills to use them and know that consequential decisions remain subject to human responsibility and meaningful review. Digital transformation therefore needs investment in technology, but equally in skills, lifelong learning, good working conditions and social dialogue. It must combine innovation with participation, productivity with decent work, and technological embrace with human oversight and responsibility.