Around 30 humanoid and quadruped robots marched in circles, waved flags and "chanted" slogans outside Poland's digital affairs ministry on September 7 in a protest calling for greater scrutiny of artificial intelligence and its impact on jobs.

The unusual demonstration in Warsaw was organised by Democratism, a social movement campaigning for a public debate over how AI and automation should reshape the labour market.

"30 robots. One message: the future is already here," the organisation said in a Facebook post.

"Humanoid and quadruped robots appeared in front of Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs to start a public debate about AI, automation and the future of work," it said.

"We are not against technology. We are asking one question: are we ready for the speed of change?"

The organisers said the protest was intended to make the consequences of rapid technological development more tangible, rather than to oppose automation itself.

"Robots on the streets of Warsaw did exactly what they were meant to do — put an urgent issue in front of the public," Democratism said in a subsequent Facebook post.

The demonstration took place as Poland moves to establish a national framework for implementing the European Union's AI Act, with the government also considering mechanisms to oversee the development and testing of artificial intelligence.

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told protesters that Poland was the first EU country to introduce oversight of the AI market, according to Polish media outlet Opolska360.

Gawkowski also announced plans for a Commission for the Development and Security of Artificial Intelligence and regulatory sandboxes that would allow companies to test AI solutions before putting them into wider use, the outlet reported.

In July, President Karol Nawrocki signed into law legislation proposed by the digital affairs ministry to implement the EU's AI Act in Poland. The legislation established a national authority able to enforce EU rules that had already formally entered into force.

However, Democratism argues workers and the wider public have a role in deciding how regulation of the new technology is introduced.

The organisation describes itself on its website as "a social movement opening the debate on how AI and robotisation affect the labour market."

"We can see that artificial intelligence and robotics are advancing faster than the public debate about their consequences," it says.

The group argues that automation is already moving into different industries and changing the way companies operate and the types of jobs available. It says decisions about the impact of AI and robotics on employment should involve the people affected by them, while calling for rules linking technological progress with accountability, job security and preparation for changes in the labour market.

"AI and robots are changing the way we work more and more," the website says. "Democratism is a social movement that wants to bring people into shaping the rules of that change."