A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate Wednesday (Dec. 3) would enable the government to gather more data to better understand the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce.

The AI Workforce Projections, Research, and Evaluations to Promote AI Readiness and Employment Act, or AI Workforce PREPARE Act, (S.3339) was introduced by Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and is cosponsored by Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Jon Husted (R-Ohio).

“We have to understand how AI is changing the workforce so we can equip American workers with the skills necessary to stay ahead of China and lead the world,” Banks said in a Thursday (Dec. 4) press release.

The bill would create an AI Workforce Research Hub to help implement the White House’s AI Action Plan; solicit ideas from the public to improve data on AI and the workforce; and enable the Labor Department to hire AI experts, according to the release.

It would also test ways to produce statistics on workers’ job changes as they are affected by AI; provide researchers with greater access to the federal government’s workforce data; conduct prize competitions to better understand how AI is used in the workplace; facilitate voluntary public-private partnerships to share anonymous data about AI adoption; and improve AI-related questions in federal surveys.

In addition, the bill would require employers to tell employees if AI is a substantial factor in a layoff; improve the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ occupational projections; and conduct a study design more effective retraining programs for workers displaced by AI.

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Hassan said in the release that the bill “helps ensure that increased automation does not result in fewer jobs for hard-working American families.”

Hickenlooper said it will help deliver a roadmap of AI’s transformation of the workforce “so that we can leverage AI and make sure American workers lead the way.”

Husted said the bill will provide “the facts on how our workforce will be impacted and evolve.”

PYMNTS reported in September that the big question right now is: How will AI impact jobs?

In November, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said AI systems can already perform tasks equal to about 12% of the U.S. workforce.

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