Key facts
- A new nonprofit called Raise Us has been established with $500 million in funding to help American workers navigate the transition brought on by artificial intelligence.
- The initiative is led by Gina Raimondo, former Commerce Secretary and Rhode Island governor.
- Key funders include AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic, alongside corporate giants like Bank of America and Amazon.
- Raise Us will collaborate with state governors, beginning with Utah, Arkansas, Maryland, and Connecticut, to develop and implement workforce retraining programs.
- The organization plans to fund pilot programs, offer "wage insurance," and provide technical assistance to companies for employee retraining.
Amid growing public concern over artificial intelligence and a lack of federal action on potential job displacement, a coalition of major companies, state governors, and foundations has launched a $500 million initiative to help American workers adapt to the AI era. The nonprofit organization, named Raise Us, is spearheaded by Gina Raimondo, former Commerce Secretary and Rhode Island governor.
Funders for Raise Us include prominent AI developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as established corporations like Amazon and Bank of America. The organization aims to address the workforce disruption that AI could generate, a challenge that Congress has yet to tackle. While the White House has focused on the economic upsides of AI, concerns about widespread job losses persist.
Raise Us will primarily collaborate with state governors, starting with pilot programs in Utah, Arkansas, Maryland, and Connecticut. The strategy leverages states' control over community college systems to translate workforce policy through course offerings and industry partnerships. The majority of the $500 million budget will support these pilot programs, overseen by approximately 15 staff members and consultants.
Examples of planned initiatives include Maryland's "service year" for recent high school graduates to gain experience in high-demand fields like healthcare, and "wage insurance" to support workers transitioning to lower-paying roles. The group also intends to provide technical assistance to companies seeking to retrain employees whose jobs are being altered by AI, rather than eliminated. Microsoft, a backer of the initiative, highlighted its own efforts in cross-training entry-level lawyers with AI skills as a model for such transitions.