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California Senate panel hears workers, employers and researchers on AI and jobs
Summary
A California State Senate select committee heard labor leaders, HR representatives and Brookings researchers on how AI is reshaping hiring, workplace surveillance and early-career job prospects, with witnesses urging human oversight, transparency from AI companies and expanded workforce training.
SACRAMENTO — Witnesses at a California State Senate select committee hearing urged state policymakers on Wednesday to balance the productivity benefits of artificial intelligence with protections for workers, calling for transparency from AI companies, human oversight of consequential employment decisions and investments in training for displaced and early-career workers.
Chair opening remarks framed the hearing as an urgent but manageable policy challenge: California added more than 100,000 AI-related job postings last year and hosts over 15% of the nation’s AI jobs, yet large occupational groups — from commercial drivers to warehouse staff — face automation risk. "If we do nothing, AI could widen inequality, destabilize labor markets and erode confidence in both our economy and our government," the chair said in opening remarks.
Sarah Fox, legislative director for the California Labor Federation, told the committee that many AI tools are being marketed to employers "to increase corporate power and profit by reducing labor costs and increasing…
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