(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – National AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler has released the following statement:

For the past couple of years, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has exploded - in our workplaces and our everyday lives.

Economists, Politicians, Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists, Higher Education Leaders and Public Health Experts alike all have their eyes on these emergent tools.

But few discussions around AI center the most important voices: Those of Working People.

Even though our labor and spending power scaffold the economy, Workers’ well-being has been treated as an afterthought in these policy conversations.

That’s why we have been laser focused on this issue for the past decade: Forming our Commission on the Future of Work and Unions in 2017; Starting our Tech Institute in 2021; and Now, in just a few days, hosting the inaugural Workers First AI Summit.

We first released our set of AI principles last year to lay out a vision of technological development where the preservation of Working People’s economic security is a central goal - and where new tools make work better and safer, with good Union jobs that have fair pay and better job quality.

On Thursday, March 26th, we will come together to discuss these foundational principles that drive our outlook for Worker-and-equity-centered AI innovation that leads to opportunity for everyone, rather than just enriching the world’s wealthiest technology companies and their investors.

National AFL-CIO Editor’s Note: Visit workersfirstai.org for more details.