In the near future, we plan on introducing legislation to direct the Departments of Labor and Industry and Community and Economic Development to conduct a comprehensive study on artificial intelligence and its impact on the Commonwealth workforce.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded over the last few years.  What was once the thing of science fiction has now become a part of many peoples’ everyday life.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “AI is expected to primarily affect occupations whose core tasks can be most easily replicated by Generative AI in its current form.”  A report from Pew Research found that experts believe over the next 20 years jobs, such as cashier, truck driver, journalist, factory worker and software engineers, will see fewer jobs than there are right now. 

Our legislation would direct the Secretaries of Labor and Industry and Community and Economic Development to complete a report to the General Assembly within a year that identifies and analyzes the impact of AI on the Commonwealth’s workforce, identify the industries where AI will result in the enhancement of a worker’s capability or replacement of the worker, identification of opportunities to influence the impact of AI on workers in the Commonwealth, analysis the workers who would be most impacted due to AI, analysis of the skills and training needed for workers to use AI and recommendations to alleviate worker displacement and the workers of today for the work of tomorrow.

We hope you will join us in cosponsoring this legislation.