The eight-hour workday. Safer factories. Fair wages. The right to organise. The dignity of labour itself.

These rights did not emerge naturally from economic progress. They were fought for during times of enormous technological disruption, particularly during the Industrial Revolution, when machines transformed production faster than societies knew how to protect people.

And this year, I found myself wondering:

Are we standing at a similar moment again?

Across the world, artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how work is performed, how organisations operate, and even how human value is measured. The conversation often focuses on efficiency, productivity and innovation, all important, of course. But perhaps Workers' Day invites us to ask deeper questions.

Not simply, "How powerful will AI become?"

But, "What kind of working world are we creating as it becomes more powerful?"

History tells us that technological revolutions are rarely only about technology. They are about power, access, adaptation and who ultimately benefits from increased productivity.

When factories mechanised production, workers eventually fought for labour protections because society realised something important: economic advancement without human dignity creates instability. Machines improved output, but they also created exploitation before laws, ethics and institutions caught up.

Today, AI may not resemble the smoke-filled factories of the 19th century, but the underlying tensions feel surprisingly familiar.

Around the world, people are quietly asking difficult questions.

If AI can write reports, analyse contracts, diagnose patterns, generate code, teach lessons, design graphics and automate administrative tasks, what happens to the millions whose livelihoods are built around those functions?

Will AI free people from repetitive work and create more meaningful lives? Or will it deepen inequality by concentrating wealth and decision-making power into fewer hands?

Will workers share in productivity gains through shorter workweeks, better quality of life, and new opportunities? Or will many simply be expected to, "do more with less"?

Even the meaning of work itself may be changing.

For generations, work has been tied not only to survival, but to identity, routine, social connection and purpose. Entire educational systems were built around preparing people for stable careers and predictable professions.

But what happens when adaptability becomes more valuable than specialisation?

What happens when industries evolve faster than institutions can respond?

And perhaps most importantly: What obligations do governments, businesses and societies have toward people whose jobs are transformed faster than they can realistically adapt?

These are not anti-technology questions. In fact, many of us benefit from AI already — often daily and invisibly. AI will undoubtedly unlock extraordinary advances in medicine, education, accessibility, research, logistics and communication.

But progress has always forced humanity to decide whether technology will primarily serve markets, or serve people.

That is why I believe Workers' Day has become more relevant, not less.

It is no longer only about remembering miners, factory workers, railway labourers, or industrial unions of the past. It is also about software engineers, delivery drivers, teachers, consultants, call-centre agents, freelancers, administrators, creatives and young graduates entering an uncertain labour market.

And nowhere do these questions feel more urgent than in South Africa.

South Africa already faces one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, especially among young people. At the same time, we are part of a globally connected digital economy where automation and AI adoption are accelerating rapidly.

This creates both enormous opportunity and enormous risk.

AI could help democratise education, improve public services, support small businesses, strengthen healthcare systems, and allow South Africans to participate more competitively in global knowledge work.

But it could also deepen existing inequalities if access to digital infrastructure, skills development and economic opportunity remains uneven.

The challenge for South Africa may therefore not simply be whether AI arrives, because it already has.

The real question is: Who will be included in the future it creates?

Will we build systems that help workers transition, reskill and participate meaningfully in new economies?

Will businesses view people only as cost centres to optimise?

Will educational institutions adapt quickly enough?

Will policymakers think beyond short-term economic indicators toward long-term social stability and human dignity?

And perhaps the most uncomfortable question of all: If technological progress allows societies to produce more value with fewer people, how do we ensure that human worth is not reduced only to economic output?

Maybe that is the deeper purpose of Workers' Day in the age of AI.

Not only to honour the struggles of workers from the past, but to reflect honestly on the kind of future we are building now — before the structures around us become too entrenched to change.

Because every generation inherits a changing world of work.

But every generation also decides what kind of humanity survives within it.

*Image courtesy of contributor