Cantwell Calls for AI Bill to Prepare Workers for Jobs of the Future
Press Release
"We're here because artificial intelligence and things like quantum computing are game changers. They have the potential to help us solve pressing global challenges like climate change, hunger, poverty, disease and are pivotal to our competitiveness for the future.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I don't think Americans have ever shied away from innovation and we shouldn't today, so let's embrace the opportunities before us and let's talk about what we need to do to make America critically successful in this technology and maintain our leadership.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I think about World War II where the women had to go in the factories and keep [up] U.S. production. That was a big transformation, or the transformation when the guys came home from World War II, and everybody said, "what's the economy of the future going to be?' And we gave them the GI Bill, and they created it.
So now instead of a GI Bill, we need an AI education bill. We need a bill that says how do we educate for the future, given the impacts of AI? How do we offer the training and the skill set so people can adapt to now in their workplace? And how can we get the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor to work together to transform the skill level of the workforce that we need for the Information Age and [the] AI revolution that's going to happen?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I want at least one million people retrained and skilled, particularly in apprentice programs because that way you get to earn and learn. And I think the workers should be empowered with AI tools now, [as] part of that apprenticeship so their job is more effective and productive.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
When you think about all the AI applications in what I would call precision agriculture are just ways to drive efficiency and competitiveness for U.S. growers. This is critically important in a changing climate environment where agriculture is becoming more challenging. And something as important as water AI can help our farmers know exactly how much water to use on every single acre. So it's very exciting to see the successes of those companies."
Source