Yesterday, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) published another issue brief titled, “Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Work” which discusses the economic effects of computerization on jobs.  It also provides some policy options for challenges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses to the workplace.

The brief elaborates about the long-term growth opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence in several areas such as transportation, speech recognition, and healthcare.  It also discusses occupations that may be put at risk, such as the routine jobs in manufacturing.

Policymakers can help alleviate some of the potential negative effects of Artificial Intelligence while also creating an environment to foster its positive effects.  The brief states:

“In the short, term policymakers should provide additional resources to educational and training programs to provide the U.S. workforce with 21^st Century skills.  In the medium term, policymakers should consider funding initiatives to develop efficient human-machine collaborations for workplace applications, and human capital investment in the skills humans will need to work alongside increasingly capable machines. In the long term, policymakers should ramp up human capital investments for a less labor-intensive economy and give some thought to support mechanisms such as a basic universal income."

The full brief can be found here.

Diane Pinto is the Public Policy Coordinator at SIIA. Follow the Policy team on Twitter @SIIAPolicy.