California launches AI tracker to monitor AI job loss across industries and demographics

California launches tracker for AI-related job losses - Engadget

California has launched a new portal, which tracks AI-related job losses in the state. According to the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, it's meant to serve as an "early warning system" for widespread job cuts due to artificial intelligence, allowing the government to proactively determine where interventions may be needed the most. The website says Newsom's office worked with the California Employment Development Department, as well as with the California Policy Lab at the University of California to conduct research to measure AI-related job losses. They use Unemployment Insurance claims data combined with AI exposure measures to come up with the figures in the tracker. Anybody can see the data for themselves, and the tracker will be updated monthly. As Bloomberg notes, the tracker was built during a time when there's increasing pressure on authorities to be more proactive when it comes to AI-driven job loss. Politicians are keen on being seen as a champion of the masses against AI, even more so for politicians in California, where many big tech companies are based. Newsom, who's believed to be running for president in 2028, recently signed an executive order requiring state agencies to develop plans for offsetting AI's effects on California workers. The tracker will let you see potential AI exposure by different groups, such as age, education, gender, industry, race and ethnicity, as well as by region. For instance, people in the 25 to 35 age group seems to the most vulnerable to AI-related layoffs, females more so than males. According to researchers who studied the data used by the tracker, however, it shouldn't be used as a definitive guide. The tracker can't actually determine whether particular jobs were eliminated due to AI, and the trends seen in it could be caused by other economic factors.

New California tool tracks AI-related job loss

The state is monitoring current and potential job loss due to generative AI. Credit: Anadolu / Contributor / Anadolu via Getty Images Governor Gavin Newsom isn't letting California "sit on the sidelines" as AI makes its way into the workforce. Announced today, the state will begin tracking AI-related job loss -- and predicting where jobs may be impacted by AI in the future -- as part of Newsom's executive order on generative AI. The data will be available for public use, via the new California AI-Unemployment Tracker, and will be updated with new work-related information monthly. The tool was created alongside the California Policy Lab at the University of California. "AI is advancing quickly, and workers' concerns about what that could mean for their jobs are real. This new tracker helps replace speculation with evidence, giving us a clearer understanding of what's changing and how to best support affected workers," said Till von Wachter, co-author and faculty director of the California Policy Lab UCLA. The tracker's inaugural findings don't indicate widespread AI-related job loss just yet, but do show that certain "high exposure" industries and demographics are at particular risk, including tech sectors and employees in the Bay Area. According to the tracker, individuals with college degrees who are frequently exposed to AI could be most impacted by AI's encroachment into the workforce. In an October Pew Research Center survey, around 20 percent of Americans said they used AI in some capacity at their jobs -- the rise in use came predominantly from workers under 50 years of age with at least a bachelor's degree. A separate global survey of executive leadership, conducted by the Mercer consulting firm, found that 99 percent of executive leaders expected AI to impact headcount over the next two years.