- American companies support a retraining scheme for workers
- AI is expected to displace millions of workers while creating new roles
- Partners promise to retrain and reassign workers rather than simply lay them off
Many of America’s biggest firms and AI influencers, including Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft and the OpenAI Foundation, have signed on to a new government scheme to help workers adapt to an AI-first future.
RAISE US is a new nonprofit organization designed to help workers adjust to job displacement by providing them with training opportunities and encouraging employers to retrain and reassign existing workers.
The scheme notes that while displacement is inevitable, 78 million net new jobs are expected to be created globally between now and 2030.
US giants join RAISE US to upskill workers for AI
This is because 50 million US workers are said to be in jobs vulnerable to AI displacement. RAISE US has proposed solutions such as wage insurance, career support and retraining initiatives to prevent human workers from losing their jobs during the transition.
“We believe this commitment to people is one of the most important investments we can make—both now and for the workforce of the future,” wrote Amazon Chief Global Affairs & Legal Officer David Zapolsky.
Although Amazon laid off about 16,000 workers earlier this year, AWS CEO Matt Garman recently confirmed plans organization-wide to hire 11,000 new graduates and interns to drive AI advancements internally.
Former US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb are behind the program, which has already seen more than $500 million committed to it. But RAISE US is aiming for about twice as much in commitments.
“America has a technology strategy to lead the global AI race,” Raimondo said. “It doesn’t yet have a people’s strategy.”
In addition to companies, state partnerships are also included in the scheme for retraining workers. Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah represent the first four. Bank of America is also a major corporate sponsor.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
