Human Friendly Automation Day (HFA): An alliance for the future of workers in the AI era

Automation through artificial intelligence (AI) must not lead to a situation where bots replace humans. With this clear stance, the HFA Alliance is entering the next phase of its networking activities as an officially registered association. It is committed to preserving value-adding activities for employees in the context of automation and AI.

08 Oct 2025 | Press release no.42

The HFA Alliance, which has been advocating for human-centred AI design since 2020, is taking the opportunity of its founding to sharpen its messages and pool all the strengths of its network. The HFA Alliance is open to individuals, companies and institutions for membership and provides its members with access to an international network of experts.

The highlight of the association's founding will be HFA Day 2025, which will mark its fifth anniversary. The expert exchange on ethical automation is being hosted by the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in Nuremberg today.

Andrea Nahles, of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), explains: "This is the second time that the BA has been given the opportunity to host HFA Day. We are very pleased about that. We want to take our 100,000 employees with us on the journey towards digitalisation and automation. HFA is one of the keys to ensuring that automation not only works, but is also actively supported by our employees. Together, we learn how to deal with digitalisation and automation in our everyday work and how to empower our employees to use new tools when interacting with customers. In the best case scenario, this will also reduce their workload.

"The principle of 'bots in, humans out' is too simplistic and too widespread," explains Lars Schatilow, founder and chairman of the association. "We want to show that investing in employees is not a social obligation, but an advantage in the global AI race. AI is about the prosperity of people and their families."

Barbara Langes, Deputy Chair of the association (ISF Munich), adds: "We want to support organisations in seeing AI not as an end in itself, but as an opportunity for value-adding work. AI should improve people's lives, not make it worse."

Stefan Latuski, CIO of the BA and supporting member of the alliance, emphasises: "The network's expertise also flows directly into our work on AI. We no longer approach IT projects from a purely technical perspective, but rather view them as a task for the entire organisation. Only when acceptance and willingness to change are present can we generate enthusiasm for AI and automation. Our employees should see automation as a support, not as a threat or replacement. And we achieve this primarily by involving them at an early stage, keeping them informed and providing them with training."

Wichtig:The HFA Alliance
Since 2020, the HFA Alliance has been committed to promoting the human-centred design of AI and automation. Since 17 March 2025, the network has been officially open to members and sponsors as a registered association (e.V.). 
The globally applicable Charter of Values and Principles of the HFA Alliance serves as a framework for the responsible use of new technologies. It defines ethical guidelines, promotes sustainable solutions and strengthens trust in AI technologies. It is already being used by many companies, public authorities and research institutions. Since its foundation, the Alliance has been supported by the Institute for Social Science Research (ISF) in Munich. The BA is one of the supporting members of the association's foundation.  Supporting members can position themselves as active supporters of a responsible AI strategy, receive fixed places at HFA events and are visibly involved in public relations and projects.
Contact: info@humanfriendlyautomation.com