A People-First Vision For The Future Of Work In The Age Of AI
Many American workers associate artificial intelligence (AI) with layoffs, less satisfying work, and tech billionaires becoming ever more wealthy at their expense. They may be right. But one can also imagine a world in which the fruits of AI are instead invested in society.
What if every K-12 student was taught by well-trained teachers in small classes, every patient interacted with unharried nurses, elders had the opportunity to age with dignity in their own homes or in high-quality residential care facilities, and everyone could find an affordable therapist when needed? And what if care workers were all people, not AI systems or robots, doing meaningful well-paid work to rebuild our communities and health, supported and paid for by the fruits of the AI economy? While tech companies target already underfunded care professions for replacement by AI, undermining our shared humanity and connections, we describe below a vision for an AI future that puts people first.
Last week, the AFL-CIO hosted a national Workers First AI Summit to ensure workers help shape the policies governing AI in the workplace. The summit arrives at a moment when debates about AI and jobs often center on a single question: Will AI destroy jobs, change jobs, create new jobs, or leave work largely unchanged? There are doomsayers and champions on both sides of the debate.