U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Mark Warner (D-VA) said they plan to introduce legislation that will track the number of jobs lost to Artificial Intelligence.
The AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act would require major companies and federal agencies to report AI-related layoff to the U.S. Department of Labor, and for the information to be compiled into a publicly available report.
“Artificial intelligence is already replacing American workers, and experts project AI could drive unemployment up to 10-20 percent in the next five years,” Hawley said. “The American people need to have an accurate understanding of how AI is affecting our workforce, so we can ensure that AI works for the people, not the other way around.”
The legislation would require major companies and federal agencies to report AI-related job effects, including layoff and job displacement, to the DOL quarterly. The information to be reported would also include the number of jobs added because of AI-related reasons, as well as the number of employees receiving retraining “based on a reason that is substantially due to artificial intelligence.”
“Good policy starts with good data. This bipartisan legislation will finally give us a clear picture of AI’s impact on the workforce – what jobs are being eliminated, which workers are being retrained, and where new opportunities are emerging. Armed with this information, we can make sure AI drives opportunity instead of leaving workers behind, ” Warner said.