Labour law and AI in Italy: between old regulations and new rules

The regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Italian labour law results from the (often difficult) coordination between recently intro- duced provisions—specifically addressing algorithmic management and AI—and pre-existing regulations whose scope also extends to newer technol- ogies. These earlier rules concern both prohibitions on certain technologies or their uses, as well as the requirement to involve workers’ representatives prior to their implementation. Although the Italian legislature was among the first to intervene in an at- tempt to regulate the emerging phenomenon of AI, the newly introduced provisions reflect the challenges inherent in addressing a technological ob- ject that remains only partially understood by the legal system. Conse- quently, in defining both the limits of AI use and the procedural requirements for its introduction in the workplace, the most significant legal references continue to be the older legislative instruments—some dating back to the 1970s—that have historically shaped the relationship between labour and technology. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the complex legal framework applicable to AI in the Italian world of work, highlighting its substantive con- tent, regulatory gaps, and internal inconsistencies. This includes both the use of AI by employers and its deployment by public and private employment services to enhance labour market efficiency.