[This is an excerpt from an article in The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and Policy Studies.]

In August 2024, the Commonwealth Secretariat launched an initiative called StrategusAI in partnership with Intel Corporation. This AI Policy Toolkit allows member governments to rapidly create comprehensive AI strategies in weeks instead of months, in addition to automatically embedding alignment with the SDGs from the outset (Commonwealth Secretariat, Citation2024). StrategusAI represents an opportunity for democratic access to policy-making for small Commonwealth states.

For this reason, it is important to understand that gaps still exist. First, creating laws and policies for AI by using AI creates a conflict of interest, as there may be a tendency to prioritise speed over authentic engagement with workers or civil society. Second, the establishment of laws and policies, while essential, alone does not mean that they will be implemented. Australia’s AI Plan presents the challenge of balancing worker protections while prioritising investments in data centres and not having mandatory boundaries in place for these types of investments (The Conversation, Citation2025). Thirdly, the worker’s voice is still not a part of the conversation. The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) social dialogue approach, which brings governments, employers and workers together as equal participants, is not being used in the design of StrategusAI.

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There are three essential areas of focus:

Governments should go beyond making tools available for transforming jobs created by AI. The first step should be to implement legally binding labour standards for AI-enabled jobs. In particular, a Data Worker Charter should be developed that specifies minimum conditions for workers across Commonwealth countries and that supports the intent of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.8 to safeguard labour rights while also supporting SDG Target 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

The second area of focus should be the development of a portable social protection system so that benefits are available to workers regardless of where they work. With over three billion informal workers around the world, the lack of social protections for these workers highlights an urgent need for solutions that are significantly larger than Commonwealth borders. These innovations support SDG Target 1.3’s focus on promoting universal access to social protection systems.Footnote4,Footnote5

Lastly, worker representation should be mandated as part of all national and regional AI governance structures to guarantee worker participation and inclusivity consistent with SDG Target 16.7, which calls for inclusive and participatory decision-making. With 60% of the 2.7 billion citizens of the Commonwealth under the age of 30, this demographic advantage could turn into a demographic disadvantage if young workers are displaced by technology and do not receive adequate support. Kanni Wignaraja, of UNDP, stated that ‘This is an incredible opportunity … but AI is racing ahead … while many countries remain in their infancy’ (United Nations, Citation2025).

StrategusAI is one step forward in rectifying this situation. However, AI tools alone will not create different conditions for young people; they will simply automate existing inequality. The Commonwealth will need to determine whether AI technology will be used to create greater efficiency for workers or simply to accelerate the displacement of workers while adding to corporate profits. Since AI displacement is occurring now, the Commonwealth’s approach must face a temporal dilemma: employment effects are already visible among younger workers, especially those under 30 who will face displacement without major safety net. Capacity building, reskilling tools and social protection systems still require several years to establish and scale. This gap will put millions of workers in vulnerable situation by exposing them to unprecedented scenario. The decision the Commonwealth makes between these two options will determine whether the promise of the 2030 Agenda ‘to leave no one behind’ will endure post-AI era.Footnote6

Timsy Kakkara  and Bharti Singh are with the Faculty of Management, CDOE, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, India.