Dive Brief:
- A group of 40 organizations on Tuesday sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to “center workers” in federal artificial intelligence legislation.
- “Employers’ increasing use of AI systems has the potential to affect the lives and livelihoods of workers across the country. Without appropriate guardrails, employers’ integration of these technologies may jeopardize workers’ rights, put workers at risk of discrimination, violate privacy rights, and dramatically impact the economic stability of working families,” the letter reads.
- The groups said that “it is urgent that Congress take action,” because “AI adoption is moving forward at breakneck speed, and America’s workers cannot afford to wait.”
Dive Insight:
The letter was spearheaded by the progressive Economic Policy Institute, We Build Progress, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute and Workshop.
In it, the groups noted that nearly two years have passed since the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released its roadmap for AI policy, “but the Senate has yet to consider comprehensive legislation.”
The groups called on the House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy, which was formed in December, to ensure that federal reforms “center the impacts of AI on workers.”
Leaders from the Senate and House AI groups could not immediately be reached for comment before press time.
Meanwhile, the White House in March proposed a national framework for regulating AI, urging Congress to preempt conflicting state laws that could “impose undue burdens” on companies.
The administration recommended Congress not create new federal rulemaking bodies for AI and rely instead on existing agencies and industry-led standards.
President Donald Trump in December also issued an executive order aiming to block some artificial intelligence laws at the state level, a move called “likely unconstitutional” by critics.
“The urgency of this moment is further compounded by the Trump administration’s decision to prioritize corporate capture over the public good,” the letter reads. “The administration has doubled down with a national AI legislative framework that would severely curtail states’ ability to regulate AI. Rather than respecting states’ authority to protect their own residents, the administration is doing the bidding of tech oligarchs.”