Today we're gathering people in Washington DC to discuss how AI will impact the economy and jobs. In our first AI Economic Forum, co-hosted with MIT FutureTech, we start with a simple premise: automatic or guaranteed benefits or risks. How AI affects our lives, jobs and economy is something we as a society can shape – and fully realizing the economic potential of AI will require a new era of collaboration between companies, workers, governments, researchers and more. At the forum, economists, industry leaders, policy makers and experts will come together to share knowledge, identify gaps in current understanding, and lay the groundwork for continued collaboration.
Google has a long-standing commitment to helping shape this transition. Today, we are building on that commitment in two critical ways. First, we are making new investments in research to ensure that governments, companies, researchers, and civil society have the information they need to make informed decisions. Second, we provide training opportunities to equip people with the skills needed to navigate a changing economy.
Investing in research to understand how AI will change the economy
Google's AI & Economy Research Program will help answer some of society's most pressing questions about the impact of AI on the economy and work. The program supports intensive collaboration with external experts. Our Visiting Fellows program brings leading economists, such as David Autor from MIT, to produce original research. Our Digital Futures Project work is supported by work from MIT's Ben Armstrong and Julia Shah to explore how firms can encourage the use of AI tools that benefit both employees and companies. Their research has found great success in the use of AI that reduces boredom, promotes learning and encourages collaboration.
We're expanding on this with Google.org funding and Google Cloud credits for a new group of researchers conducting cutting-edge research on work, organizational productivity, and change across economic sectors. We also provide support for Google.org's global collection of research institutions investigating the impact of AI on labor markets, sector-specific changes in manufacturing and health care, the policy conditions needed to increase workforce opportunity, and more. We are also expanding our internal research efforts on a variety of topics, from the real-world impact of productive AI on knowledge work productivity to the economics of AI agents.
To help guide this work, we draw on the knowledge of our academic advisors: Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, Dame Diane Coyle of the University of Cambridge, and former PIMCO CEO and Wharton School professor Mohamed El-Erian.
Supporting new ways of training and opportunity
Ensuring that people have access to useful training and skills-building programs is essential to preparing people for a developing world. Google is able to do this at scale. To date, we've trained 100 million people around the world in digital skills – more than 13 million in the US – and have designed innovative programs like our AI Proficiency Certificate, designed to move people beyond literacy to master AI. Our $120 million Global AI Opportunity Fund makes AI education and training available to communities around the world.
We know that the AI revolution will require different approaches to training and skills development, as well as education, so we are working across the board on three new initiatives funded by Google.org:
- Through the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, we are funding an effort to train rural health workers in AI literacy and provide practical tools, allowing them to spend less time on paperwork, more time with patients, and ultimately lead to better health outcomes.
- We support the Apprenticeships Unlocked program, led by Jobs for the Future, which will bring together 100 companies to create new apprenticeships in high-demand and emerging sectors across the US.
- We're partnering with the Manufacturing Institute (MI) to equip 40,000 current and future manufacturing workers with critical AI skills and expand learning opportunities in 15 new US states.
This follows the Google AI Educator Series, our latest initiative with ISTE+ASCD to provide Google AI products and comprehensive AI training to all 6 million K12 and higher education educators in the US.
Building a strong foundation
This work builds on our foundational investments that include $1 billion in funding for AI education, job training programs, and other education-related programs in the US and the tens of billions of dollars we have invested in US technology infrastructure, research and development, and energy expansion to help prepare our AI economy.
We are committed because, over time, we have seen the power of digital tools, including AI, as an engine of economic mobility, helping to level the playing field for businesses and people everywhere. Our latest annual US Economic Impact report includes stories of businesses from every state that are using technology to grow. But realizing this possibility requires smart governance coupled with private investment. That's why we've recently endorsed sound policies to help policymakers understand how AI is impacting the economy while preparing and supporting the workforce during this transition. The bills will help America prepare for the AI revolution in three key ways: exploring the economic impact of AI, equipping workers with AI skills, and promoting the adoption of AI that empowers workers.
Ultimately, no single business can handle this change alone. We see the platform as an important step in building the cooperation, collaboration, and understanding needed to help successfully navigate the AI revolution.
