In this one-day high-level conference, we explore the right to shape AI as key to the future of work in a democratic society. Hosted by Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI and the Bonavero Institute for Human Rights, the conference will bring together policy makers, academics, business leaders and employee representatives to explore concrete proposals to embed and renew human agency at work. Discussion will focus on the results of a recently released report on Democracy at Work commissioned by the Government of Spain led by Prof Isabelle Ferreras and on the ERC-funded iManage project led by Prof Jeremias Adams-Prassl.
Keynote speakers will include Yolanda Diaz, Vice-Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of Labour, who will set out her government’s agenda in support of worker voice and ownership, and economics Nobel laureate Professor Daron Acemoglu, who is championing pro-worker AI. This will be followed by interactive sessions bringing together senior academics, policy makers and stakeholders from different jurisdictions around the world, anchored in concrete regulatory proposals and real-life use cases, collaborating to reimagine a future of work characterised by a right to shape AI. Learn more about the other panellists joining our conference
Agenda
- 8:30 Registration
- 9:30 Welcome
- 10:00 - 12:00 Plenary
- 12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
- 13:30-15:00 Panel I
- 15:00-15:30 Break
- 15:30-17:00 Panel II
- 17:00 Conclusions
- 17:30 Drinks reception
Hosts
Jeremias Adams-Prassl is Professor of Law and Associate Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Law, Oxford University, a Fellow of Magdalen College, and a Senior research associate of the Institute for Ethics in AI. He read law at Oxford, Paris and Harvard Law School and holds a honorary doctorate in law from Lund University. Jeremias' research focuses on technology, innovation policy and the future of work in the European Union and beyond, supported by grants and prizes including an ERC Starting Grant and a Philip Leverhulme Prize.
Dr Caroline Green is the Institute’s Director of Research and Head of Public Engagement, leading the Institute's Accelerator Fellowship Programme. Caroline's research focuses on AI and human rights, specifically in the fields of health and social care. Caroline holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Human Rights from the LSE, a MA in Investigative Journalism from City University and a PhD in Gerontology from King's College London.
Isabelle Ferreras served as Chair of the International High-level Expert Committee on Democracy at Work appointed by the Spanish Government and its Minister of Labor. She is FNRS Research director, Professor extraordinaire of sociology at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain, CriDIS_TED), Senior Research Associate of the Center for Labour and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. Isabelle is a co-founder and the coordinator of the global DemocratizingWork.org network. She is a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, Class technology & Society, and holds an honorary doctorate in industrial relations from Université Laval. Among her publications, see Firms as Political Entities. Saving Democracy through Economic Bicameralism (2017, Cambridge UP), and co-authored: Democratize Work : The Case for Reorganizing the Economy (2022, University of Chicago Press), Democratizing the Corporation. The Bicameral Firm and Beyond (2024, Verso).
Keynote speakers
Yolanda Diaz is Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Spain since 2021, and Minister of Labour and Social Economy of the Government of Spain since 2020. Prior to enter in politics, she served as an attorney at law specialized in labour law. In her capacity as Minister of Labour of Spain, she has championed progressive reforms of the labor market to fight against precarious work, to secure employment conditions of platform workers via the Ley Ryider which has inspired the EU Directive on Platform Work passed in 2024, to reduce working time and increase minimum wage. In 2025, Diaz appointed an International High-level Expert Committee on Democracy at Work to get expert advice on how to deploy the Article 129.2 of the Spanish Constitution and in February 2026, the Expert Committee chaired by prof. Isabelle Ferreras, which included Prof. Jeremias Adams-Prassl, delivered its Report.
Daron Acemoğlu is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A 2024 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, his groundbreaking research with Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson examines the decisive role of institutions in shaping economic prosperity and democracy. He is the leading global voice in the field of economics advocating for "Pro-worker AI", arguing that technological advancement must be redirected to augment human capabilities rather than merely automating existing jobs. His work emphasizes that the future of democracy and shared prosperity depends on our ability to govern the direction of innovation. Among many appointments, Daron Acemoğlu is a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University.
Learn more about the other panellists joining our conference