Microsoft, Labor Unions Join Forces To Analyze AI's Impact on Workforce

By
Naomi Buchanan
Naomi Buchanan
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Naomi Buchanan is a reporter at Investopedia breaking down news stories that impact investors.
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Published December 11, 2023
Microsoft logo on an office building.

Gary Hershorn / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Microsoft Corp. and the AFL-CIO on Monday announced an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused partnership to "create an open dialogue" about how the emerging tech will affect workers.
  • The goals of the partnership are to provide AI education to workers, consider workers' perspectives, and help shape relevant policy, Microsoft and the labor unions said.
  • The company-labor force AI partnership comes amid concerns that the emerging technology could replace workers and a shortage in AI-skilled talent, according to McKinsey research.

Microsoft Corp. and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) announced a partnership focused on the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on workers on Monday.

The partnership between the tech giant and the AFL-CIO, which represents 60 labor unions and 12.5 million workers, was formed "to create an open dialogue" about how AI will affect the workforce.

The three goals of the partnership are—AI education, considering workers' perspective when developing AI tech, and "helping shape public policy that supports the technology skills and needs of frontline workers."

The partnership comes amid concerns that AI could replace some workers.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in a July research report estimated that up to 30% of working hours in the U.S. economy could be automated by 2030 and projected that 12 million workers may need to transition to different occupations. While for some, this could translate to job loss, it is also expected to create jobs working with the emerging tech, especially for those skilled in AI.

Through the partnership, Microsoft AI experts are set to lead learning sessions for AFL-CIO workers starting in the winter of 2024 as well as "deep-dive and experiential workshops starting 2024 through 2026 that will be tailored to specific careers and roles," the press release said.

Training workers in AI is especially important as an AI talent shortage could threaten innovation and implementation of the technology. This shortage was highlighted as tech companies, such as Microsoft, scrambled to absorb and match the compensation of any OpenAI employees threatening to leave after CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted from the company in November.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), another tech giant in the AI race, launched a free AI skills training program in November to address the AI talent shortage.

Microsoft shares were down a little under 1% Monday. Despite Monday's losses, the tech company's shares remain up more than 50% year-to-date.

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Article Sources
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  1. AFL-CIO. "AFL-CIO and Microsoft Announce New Tech-Labor Partnership on AI and the Future of the Workforce."

  2. McKinsey & Co. "Generative AI and the Future of Work in America."

  3. Unleash. "McKinsey: AI Innovation Constrained by Talent Shortage."

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