How AI affects jobs, public services, and workers’ rights in the Nordics and the EU

Algorithms and AI systems have continued to reshape decision-making at workplaces and to shift the balance of power between employers, employees and citizens. As the European Commission has moved from the AI Act with a Digital Omnibus in the spirit of deregulation and simplification, the FEPS-Nordic Digital Programme has focused its 2025-2026 edition grounding the debates around AI and work in Nordic evidence and trade union practice to provide evidence for how in the most digitally advanced countries in Europe are adopting these new technologies on the labour market, ensuring accountability and transparency in public services, and defending workers’ rights.

To present the conclusions, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), in collaboration with the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO Sweden), the Akademikerförbundet SSR, the Nordic Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES Nordics), and Handels, gathered the Programme’s consortium partners and Swedish experts, trade unionists, and policy makers for a closing conference on 23 October 2026 at LO Sweden’s headquarters in Stockholm. For the consortium, the day kicked-off with presentations of this year’s findings and a discussion on what should come next for the Programme. In the afternoon, the agenda was open to Swedish invitees and feature workshops on AI, automation, and public authority to identify priorities for the EU’s digital and social agenda.

This event closed the 2025-2026 edition of the FEPS–Nordic Digital Programme, a collaborative research and policy initiative led by FEPS in cooperation with Nordic think tanks and trade unions. In 2025-2026, the programme continued to focus on algorithmic management at the workplace, but also examined the impact of AI on decision-making, the public sector and worker productivity, empowering workers and shaping a fairer digital future.

As part of the 2025-2026 edition, the conference launched two new publications:

Policy study – Beyond the promise of AI, productivity and the future of work: Realities from the Danish Labour Market and lessons for Europe

This policy study examines the impact of AI on the Danish labour market, where workplace AI adoption is the highest in the EU. It finds that AI has clear potential to raise productivity, particularly in knowledge-intensive tasks, but that these gains are likely to materialise gradually. Using various economic analyses, the study shows that there is no robust evidence of significant effects on wages, employment or working hours. At the same time, AI adoption is unevenly distributed, with younger, more highly educated and higher-earning workers more likely to use AI at work, raising concerns about widening existing inequalities.

Guide – Data rights are worker’s rights: A GDPR guide to push back on workplace monitoring

According to a recent study, 75% of the 6,000 respondents surveyed from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden reported that at least one algorithmic management tool is used in their workplace. This guide wants to support shop stewards, other union representatives and workers in negotiating and challenging the use of algorithmic management in their workplace. As algorithmic management runs entirely on data collected from workers, the guide focuses on how to make use of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Monty Aal, FEPS Digital Policy Analyst (monty.aal@feps-europe.eu) or Vanessa Zwisele, FEPS Project Officer (vanessa.zwisele@feps-europe.eu).