A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the U.S. government to expand data collection on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the U.S. workforce, seeking to determine the likelihood that AI advances will disrupt the labor market and cause job losses.
In a letter spearheaded by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., nine senators said the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau should better integrate AI into labor force surveys and increase the frequency of reports on how the technology is affecting jobs.
“We write to strongly urge the federal government’s statistical agencies to prioritize the collection, analysis, and dissemination of high-quality, timely data regarding artificial intelligence’s (AI) impact on the labor market,” said the letter, addressed to the heads of the labor statistics and census bureaus and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
“At a time when the U.S. workforce is approaching an inflection point due to the acceleration of artificial intelligence, adaptable and responsive federal statistical agencies are necessary in guiding labor market participants, researchers, and policymakers on how to properly respond to this moment,” they wrote.
Better data collection is especially important, the letter said, because the government’s current data, research, and measurement on AI “significantly lags behind non-governmental labor market data.”
It points to several opportunities to expand surveys to better understand AI’s impact, including in the Current Population Survey, which is a cornerstone of the monthly jobs report; the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which produces monthly and annual estimates of job openings, hires, and separations; and the National Longitudinal Survey, which follows the lives of a sample of American youth.
The letter builds on the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act, introduced by Warner and Hawley in November. It requires federal agencies and major companies to report AI-related layoffs to the Department of Labor to be compiled into a publicly available report.
That legislation was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, where it remains.
The bipartisan effort on AI data comes at a time of increasing focus – and uncertainty – about how the technology is impacting jobs as it is adopted in government and throughout society.
As the letter from the senators says, “reporting from across the private sector, academia, and media depict an uncertain picture of artificial intelligence’s current and potential impact on the workforce, with some use cases demonstrating a high probability of job disruption and others making the case for employment growth.”
Among the public officials concerned about AI job losses is Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who in October released a report saying that without regulation, AI could lead to the loss of up to 100 million U.S. jobs over the next decade.
Yet a recent report from the MIT Sloan School of Management painted what it called “a more nuanced picture.”
“Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a job killer, but new research tracking AI adoption from 2010 to 2023” shows that “AI’s impact is often on specific tasks within jobs rather than on whole occupations,” the report says.
When AI can perform most of the tasks that make up a particular job, the MIT report found, the share of people in that role within a company falls by about 14%.
But when AI’s impact is concentrated in just a few tasks within a role, it added, employment in that role can grow – because with some of their tasks automated, workers can focus on areas where AI is less capable, such as critical thinking.
The bipartisan letter to the Department of Labor was also signed by Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Margaret Wood Hassan, D-N.H., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Tim Kaine, D-Va., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Todd Young, R-Ind., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
A Department of Labor spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.