The majority of Portuguese do not see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as moral, safe, fair or loyal, have doubts about its use in culture and sport, law or government and public administration and, among the youngest, it is believed that it will affect interpersonal relationships. And there are fears that it will also affect the labour market, says the study "The Morality of Artificial Intelligence in Portugal", by NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS), to which Trabalho by ECO had access.


"The positions revealed by the Portuguese are in line with studies carried out in developed economies such as the USA and other Western European countries. In other words, there is a positive view of AI as a form of human augmentation, however, there is always a fear (almost science fiction) of AI replacing all human work", begins by saying Diego Costa Pinto, professor who directed the NOVA IMS study.


"In the Portuguese context in particular, there is a particular factor that can increase the perception of vulnerability in relation to AI, given the characteristics of the labour market in Portugal (contracts, average salary, level of tasks). The more basic the task performed at work and the less job stability (fixed-term contracts), the more fear of being replaced by AI", said the researcher of the study that also has professors Ana Rita da Cunha Gonçalves and Rafael Luís Wagner in its coordination.


The rate of precarious work in Portugal has been falling, standing at 17.1 percent in the first quarter, but is still above the European average. The figure shows that there is "a lot to do and work on", because Portugal continues "with a rate above the European average, both in general terms and in terms of young people", admitted Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labor, in Parliament at the end of May.


A study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also points out that in Portugal the impact of AI on the labor market could be significant: automation could affect 30 percent of jobs, above the 27 percent average for OECD countries.