White House urges lawmakers to ‘modernize the social safety net’ in new AI report

The Obama administration today is releasing a 52-page report addressing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on the economy.

This report comes two months after the White House released a report that talked about recent advances in AI and did not focus so much on employment, in particular.

The new report, which was penned by people from several divisions of the White House and cites numerous academic and political studies, ultimately suggests that lawmakers consider improving existing systems in order to help Americans. Here are some highlights from the recommendations:

• Strategy No. 1: Invest in and develop AI for its many benefits. “Government has an important role to play in advancing the AI field by investing in research and development. Among the areas for advancement in AI are cyberdefense and the detection of fraudulent transactions and messages. … Prioritizing diversity and inclusion in STEM fields and in the AI community specifically, in addition to other possible policy responses, is a key part in addressing potential barriers stemming from algorithmic bias.”
• Strategy No. 2: Educate and train Americans for jobs of the future. “As AI changes the nature of work and the skills demanded by the labor market, American workers will need to be prepared with the education and training that can help them continue to succeed. … This starts with providing all children with access to high-quality early education so that all families can prepare their students for continued education, as well as investing in graduating all students from high school college- and career-ready, and ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable post-secondary education. Assisting U.S. workers in successfully navigating job transitions will also become increasingly important; this includes expanding the availability of job-driven training and opportunities for lifelong learning, as well as providing workers with improved guidance to navigate job transitions.”
• Strategy No. 3: Aid workers in the transition and empower workers to ensure broadly shared growth. “This includes steps to modernize the social safety net, including exploring strengthening critical supports such as unemployment insurance, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and putting in place new programs such as wage insurance and emergency aid for families in crisis.”

Read the full report here (PDF).