Some of the world’s biggest technology companies have joined hands to help workers prepare for the changes artificial intelligence could bring to the job market. A new non-profit organisation called Raise US plans to work with US states to test new workforce policies, expand training programmes and help people adapt as AI reshapes industries.
The initiative has the support of the OpenAI Foundation, Anthropic, Amazon and Microsoft, which have joined as its founding partners. Raise US aims to raise $1 billion for the effort and says it has already secured $500 million, reported US media outlet Business Insider.
The organisation wants to build a nationwide platform that will advise US governors on preparing workers for the AI economy. Instead of waiting for large-scale disruption, it plans to test policies that could help employees move into new careers and reduce the impact of job losses.
Former US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is leading the organisation, said the country needs a strategy that focuses on people as much as technology. “America has a technology strategy for leading the global AI competition. It does not yet have a people strategy, and we cannot lead without one,” Raimondo told Business Insider.
Raise US has started its work with four states including Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah. The organisation says it chose both Republican-led and Democratic-led states to build solutions that can work across political lines.
What will Raise US do?
One of the group’s biggest goals is to test workforce policies before AI changes become more widespread. It wants to launch pilot programmes that could later expand across the country if they prove successful, reported Business Insider.
Among the ideas under consideration are wage insurance, which can temporarily make up part of a worker’s lost income after moving to a lower-paying job, and short-time compensation programmes that help companies reduce working hours instead of laying off employees during difficult periods.
Raise US also plans to create career guidance tools powered by artificial intelligence. In Arkansas, the organisation is partnering with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders to launch Arkansas LAUNCH, an AI-based career platform that will connect students and job seekers with education programmes and employers based on their skills and career goals, reported Business Insider.
In Maryland, the partnership with Governor Wes Moore focuses on expanding service-year opportunities for recent high school graduates in sectors such as healthcare and education.
Amazon said working directly with state governments would allow new workforce models to reach more people in a shorter time. “By working directly with state governments to pilot and scale new workforce models, we can move faster and reach more people than any of us could independently,” Amazon chief global affairs and legal officer David Zapolsky told Business Insider.
Raise US says additional states are expected to join the initiative in the coming months.
Why is this initiative important?
The launch comes as debate over AI’s impact on jobs continues across the technology industry. Some experts believe AI could automate many routine tasks and reduce demand for certain occupations, while others expect the technology to create new kinds of work over time.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next one to five years if adoption accelerates. At the same time, some technology leaders have softened earlier warnings after job losses failed to appear as quickly as expected.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said he had expected AI to have a bigger impact on entry-level office jobs by now. “I thought that there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar work jobs being eliminated by now than it’s actually happened,” Altman said during an event hosted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Raise US also brings together leaders from business, labour, politics and philanthropy. Its advisory board includes former governors, corporate executives, labour representatives and economists who will help shape workforce policies as AI adoption grows.
The organisation says preparing workers before disruption becomes widespread is its central goal. By testing new employment programmes, career pathways and income support policies, it hopes states will be better equipped to manage the economic changes that AI could bring over the next decade, reported Business Insider.