AI Literacy in the Workplace

On Thursday, 29 October, Jean-François Lucas, General Manager of Renaissance Numérique, spoke at the Franco-German webinar entitled “Building a Shared Culture of AI in the Workplace”. Organized by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, IRES and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Paris, the event brought together researchers and trade union representatives to discuss the challenges of AI literacy in the workplace.

As AI transforms occupations and working conditions, the event aimed to explore the role of AI literacy as a means of strengthening collective agency. Beyond the requirements of the European AI Act, the goal is to equip employees and their representatives with the tools to assess AI systems, preserve critical skills and participate in decisions governing the use of AI in the workplace.

During his presentation on AI literacy, Jean-François Lucas addressed several key topics, including:

• The distinction between automating specific tasks and transforming an entire occupation;
• The five pillars of AI literacy: understanding, using, evaluating, deciding and participating;
• The relationship between employees’ individual skills, the opportunities for collective action provided by organizations, and the legislative framework (AI Act, Article 4);
• Four levers for collective action by employee representatives: mapping, evaluating, preserving and negotiating.

Particular attention was given to the “Preserve” lever, an essential aspect of managing AI-driven changes in the workplace that is still too often overlooked.

This means preserving certain human skills to ensure human oversight at different stages of AI deployment (human in the loop), particularly when it comes to reversing or rolling back an AI implementation. It also means preserving tasks that may be considered non-productive but serve important purposes, such as strengthening team cohesion, providing breathing space between tasks and supporting workplace well-being. Pascal Minotte discussed this issue in our latest interview: “Routine tasks are not necessarily the most fulfilling, but they can sometimes provide a form of breathing space in a profession characterised by intense interpersonal interactions.”

This presentation builds on our ongoing work, particularly our report, “Developing AI Literacy for a More Inclusive and Empowering Society”, published in October 2025.