AI@Work Labs: A bottom-up approach to shaping AI policy and practice The 2025 annual report of the Network of Labs

In a context marked by rapid technological change and increasing uncertainty, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping work and employment at an unprecedented pace. While a growing body of research has examined these transformations through macroeconomic modelling, labour market projections, or technical and regulatory analyses, there remains a persistent need for empirically grounded, qualitative, and interdisciplinary approaches capable of capturing how AI is experienced, adopted, and negotiated in concrete work settings. This report presents the formation, objectives, and strategic trajectory of the AI@work labs network. This is an initiative designed to advance qualitative research, embedded in real-world contexts, on how AI is reshaping work and employment. By bringing together local and regional labs from around the world, the network aims to generate context-sensitive knowledge capable of informing both policy and practice at a global scale. A core ambition of the network is to give analytical visibility to perspectives that remain underrepresented in AI debates, particularly those of non-managerial workers and employees. In doing so, it contributes to an evidence-based public dialogue attentive to lived realities.