Company scraps plans to give AI 'rights' after backlash from employees

Human resource software company Lattice has scrapped its plan to grant AI "employees" similar rights to their human counterparts following widespread backlash from the tech community.

The decision comes just three days after Lattice announced the initiative, which included giving digital workers employee records and integrating them into organisational charts.

The announcement led to significant online criticism, prompting Lattice to reconsider its approach.

“This innovation sparked a lot of conversation and questions that have no clear answers yet,” CEO Sarah Franklin said in a statement to Fortune.

“We look forward to continuing to work with our customers on the responsible use of AI but will not further pursue digital workers in the product."

Lattice’s initial announcement aimed to integrate AI into the workplace responsibly, treating the technology as human hirees by training, onboarding, and assigning managers.

The move followed the company’s rapid rise during the pandemic era, driven by remote work and a tight labour market.

However, the idea of treating AI agents as employees faced criticism from industry leaders. Sawyer Middeleer, chief of staff at AI sales platform Aomni, argued that it disrespects the humanity of real employees and implies that humans are merely resources to be optimised and measured against machines.

The backlash highlights the growing anxiety around AI's role in the workplace.

Lattice's decision to grant AI workers rights comes a year after the company laid off over 100 employees amid hiring and spending slowdowns.