Pôle emploi was one of the winners of the “Public Action 2022″ program for its project ” installing artificial intelligence within Pôle emploi as a lever to accelerate the return to sustainable employment”. It was in fact one of the first French public actors to exploit the potential of AI on such a large scale: open innovation platform (pôle-emploi.io), InnovAction platform, the Pôle emploi Lab… In order to ensure that the development of AI uses is carried out within an ethical framework, Jean Bassères, Pôle emploi’s general manager, has proposed that the institution adopt a charter.

If the potentialities of AI are numerous, both for Pôle emploi agents and for its users, its technologies can raise ethical and societal issues.

The Pôle emploi Charter for an ethical AI is the result of a collaborative work in which a multidisciplinary working group participated, as well as users, job seekers and advisors. It concerns all algorithms, services and AI solutions whose design, definition, implementation, use, purpose and rules are defined by Pôle emploi and are under its responsibility (except for regulatory or legislative provisions related to specific treatments.

Reviewed by Pôle emploi’s External Ethical Advisory Committee on AI , it was then approved by its Board of Directors.

The commitments of the Pôle emploi Charter to guarantee the development and ethical use of algorithms and artificial intelligence

The Pôle emploi Charter for ethical AI aims to enable Pôle emploi to fulfill its missions in compliance with the values and obligations of public services.

Pôle emploi commits itself to implement only algorithms and AI solutions designed to serve the interests of Pôle emploi’s agents and users, within the limits of its missions, to fight against malicious practices against them, but above all to place the human being at the center: AI must be at his service.

AI algorithms can reproduce, reinforce or generate discriminatory biases To guarantee fairness and non-discrimination, Pôle emploi is committed to limiting algorithmic biases in order to ensure fair treatment for all users.

Many people are concerned that AI and the automation of tasks it enables will lead to job cuts. The Charter wants to reassure Pôle emploi agents: humans have an essential place, AI can help them, enlighten their choices, make decisions but cannot force them to follow them, their freedom of choice must be respected.

For more transparency, Pôle emploi is committed to informing users of the fact that they are interacting with an AI system, of the uses that are made of their data and, to do so in compliance with the law, to collect their consent.

Security and technical robustness are necessary to ensure the respect of users’ privacy as well as the reliability and resilience to attacks of the proposed services.

Pôle emploi undertakes to comply with the practices recommended by the ANSSI (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information) and the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés) in terms of data security: identification of data at risk, security of processing, notification in the event of
in case of violation of personal data.

Environmental impact is the final component of the Pôle emploi Charter. Pôle emploi, which had voluntarily integrated a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach for a sustainable environment and development, is committed to pursuing its approach for a responsible digital environment and thus minimizing the environmental impact linked to the development and use of algorithms and artificial intelligence systems.

Pôle emploi undertakes to periodically review its charter and, if necessary, to make it evolve in order to bring it into line with technological, societal and regulatory developments.

Pôle emploi also undertakes to implement the governance, organization, systems and tools necessary to ensure compliance with the commitments of this Charter.

Translated from Focus sur la Charte de Pôle Emploi pour une utilisation éthique de l’intelligence artificielle