Legislation from Sens. Warner, Hawley address AI data gaps
On Wednesday, Sens. Josh Hawley and Mark Warner introduced a bill to require major companies and the federal government to report AI-related job data to the Department of Labor (DOL). This week’s legislation follows early research exposing AI’s emerging impact on the workforce and calls from leading economists for the DOL to gather more high-quality data on AI’s jobs impact.
“To address AI’s impact on jobs, we need a clear picture of how this new technology is impacting the workforce,” said ARI Executive Director Eric Gastfriend. “Today’s bill gets at a very real problem. If we don’t know where jobs are being lost and what new opportunities AI is creating, then we can’t train American workers for the jobs of the future. To develop smart, targeted solutions addressing workforce displacement, we need good data and a clear understanding of the economy’s direction. This is one of several ideas now emerging to help policymakers get a clearer picture of the AI economy.”
In September, ARI led a coalition of over 40 leading economists and economic policy experts to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging the Department of Labor (DOL) to gather more high-quality data on AI’s impact on jobs. The letter, signed by four Nobel laureates and two former chairs of the Federal Reserve, comes on the heels of new research suggesting AI is already reducing job opportunities for early-career workers in areas most exposed to AI. The letter notes that better data collection is critical not only to understanding AI’s impact but also to respond and train U.S. workers for new jobs in an AI-integrated economy.
For more on AI’s emerging workforce impact, check out ARI’s recent virtual panel featuring economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Bharat Chandar. The event explores new research from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab exposing a dramatic decline in job opportunities for certain early-career workers.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at ARI.us.