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The Growing Tension Between AI Adoption and Worker RightsThe Guardian reports on Sarah O’Connor's book *We Are Not Machines*, which explores how AI is redefining jobs and human cognition. From a robot magician denied entry to the Magic Circle to Elon Musk’s push for humanoid robots, the narrative questions whether technological capability should dictate workplace practices.From Magic Tricks to Warehouse Surveillance: The Book’s Core IllustrationsO’Connor follows several frontline examples:A robot magician, D4YRL, rejected for lacking emotional engagement.Amazon warehouse staff monitored constantly, with remote workers in India and Costa Rica training surveillance AI.Translators like Petr who now spend hours post‑editing mediocre AI‑generated text for lower pay.A Dutch nurse providing empathetic care that a robot cannot replicate.These cases underscore the book’s central question: “Are we robotising ourselves?”Numbers Highlighting AI’s Reach and Market DominanceSpaceX controls 75% of all payloads launched into space, according to a Cambridge paper.Swedish miners successfully introduced autonomous trucks after joint union‑employer negotiations.Hollywood writers secured AI usage limits through collective bargaining during the strike.Why AI’s Encroachment Reshapes Labor Relations GloballyThe analysis shows a clear divide:Workers with strong bargaining power (e.g., Swedish unions, Hollywood writers) can negotiate AI boundaries.Most employees lack such leverage, prompting calls from the UK Trades Union Congress and the Institute for Public Policy Research for pre‑deployment negotiation rights.Tech billionaires, notably Elon Musk, oppose union influence, framing AI as a productivity panacea.These dynamics suggest that without regulatory intervention, AI could deepen existing power asymmetries.What the Next Decade May Hold for AI Governance in the WorkplaceO’Connor argues that technology should be shaped by people, not the other way around. Future scenarios may include:Legislation granting workers a formal “right to negotiate” before AI deployment.Industry standards that differentiate between tasks suitable for automation and those requiring human empathy.Potential government intervention if corporate AI dominance mirrors historical monopolies like the East India Company.In sum, the fight for the future of work will hinge on balancing innovation with human‑centred safeguards.