Government efforts to ‘make America AI-ready’: NPR

If AI can save five hours a week, governments want to know: [you] “What would you do with that time?” Would you “spend more time with your family?” Would you finally launch an Etsy shop? Would you like to fix up your garage? ”

This is the hopeful launch of a new AI literacy course from the Department of Labor. “Remember, that’s why you’re here.”

Late last month, the department launched a course titled “Make America AI-Ready,” whose goal, in the course’s own words and emojis, is to “make AI feel less like a mystery and more like a tool you actually want to use 💪.”

The Trump administration has primarily supported the needs of the AI ​​industry. He put a Silicon Valley executive in the White House, repeatedly tried to preempt state AI laws, and pushed hundreds of billions of dollars into AI-related infrastructure investments.

The Department of Labor said in a press release that the course is one of its contributions to implementing the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan.

Although AI and Media Literacy teachers praised the overall content and framework of the course, some of the course materials questioned government ethics. Labor groups also question whether such courses will help in addressing potential changes to the workforce due to AI.

Overall, this course is solid according to AI Literacy teachers

Peter Stone, dean of the computer science department at the University of Texas at Austin, said AI literacy courses are in high demand. He co-founded a course in 2023 titled “Essentials of AI for Life and Society,” which boasts hundreds of students per year.

“There’s this kind of hype cycle in artificial intelligence,” Stone said. “I think it’s important for people to be able to penetrate what’s true and be familiar with artificial intelligence, because that’s what we’re going to need.”

This course consists of a total of seven short daily modules, each lasting less than 10 minutes, delivered via text message. Each day begins with a lesson, followed by multiple quizzes.

“There’s only so much you can do in a course this size,” said Mike Caulfield, a digital literacy expert at the University of Washington Bothell who was not involved in the course’s creation. “I think it’s a good course overall.”

The course covers principles for using AI effectively, Caulfield said. He reviewed the material and found that it does a good job of addressing the importance of context, being specific about what he wants, and emphasizing the need to validate the output of the AI.

But Mr Caulfield said: “I’m not sure the tone was always perfect in some of the responses,” adding: “There were just a few places where it seemed a little too rosy.”

For example, in this course, we kept reminding students of the potential time-saving benefits of AI. This may allow you to do more things outside of work. But early research suggests that’s not happening to most people. In some professions, such as software development, people say the introduction of AI is causing “task intensification,” where workers take on more difficult tasks and AI takes on simpler tasks.

The Department of Labor’s course also links to at least one piece of dodgy advice, instructing students to review a video titled “101 Ways to Use AI.” The video suggests that students can ask the chatbot if it is safe to eat foraged mushrooms, which can cause poisoning.

Taylor Stockton, the Labor Department’s chief innovation officer, declined to answer questions related to that specific advice, and the DOL did not respond to NPR’s subsequent requests for comment.

The presence of private companies raises ethical issues

The Ministry of Labor partnered with technology company Aristo to deliver the course. The company specializes in delivering short text message-based courses and has worked with organizations such as Etsy, the Poynter Institute, and the California Governor’s Office. Stockton said the DOL developed the content for the course, but Aristo delivered the content for free without any contract process as part of the White House’s Pledge to America’s Youth initiative.

Craig Holman, an ethics, lobbying and campaign finance rules expert at the nonprofit Public Citizen, said the arrangement was unusual. ”[A] A company that runs a government program and doesn’t get paid by the government to do it…sounds very suspicious to me. ”

Aristo did not respond to NPR’s request for an interview.

Aristo wasn’t the only company to take part in the course. The lesson titled “Put AI to Work For You” lists over a dozen tools. “You choose how AI supports your work. Here are some that are worth considering,” the course states. Additionally, it lists chatbots and more purpose-built tools created by well-known AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and xAI.

DataWrapper, a data visualization tool that does not use any AI, was also included in the list, the company said.

Even if no money was given or received, just listing a product in a government training course raises ethical concerns, Holman said. “It’s actually exploiting public resources to further private interests.”

There are laws prohibiting such conduct, and it is the responsibility of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute violations. But Holman said the current administration is not enforcing them.

Stockton said DOL officials are not using the course to advocate for private companies. “We identified different tools and companies that are out there. [Americans] You may or may not choose to consider it. ”

Labor advocates say the course omits important context.

Part of the Department of Labor’s stated mission is to “advance, promote, and advance the welfare of America’s wage earners, job seekers, and retirees” and to “promote gainful employment opportunities.”

But labor advocates say the courses do not appear to be effective worker training.

“Is this what you’re doing? [training] Does it make workers’ jobs better or safer? “Will it help people who want to find work access quality union jobs?” asked Lauren McFerran, executive director of the AFL-CIO Technical Institute and former chair of the National Labor Relations Board. “I’m not sure that teaching someone how to pursue an LLM necessarily accomplishes those goals.”

McFerran said the course omits important context to help workers cope with the changes in the workforce shaped by AI. “I think telling trainees that the big risk in using AI is the need for fact-checking is misleading at best.”

He said employees are concerned about how management is leveraging AI. “Are you training a product that will eventually take your job? If suddenly AI decides it can give you 10x the speed, will your employer start demanding unrealistic productivity?”

Stockton, DOL’s chief innovation officer, said the AI ​​literacy course is just a starting point and that the department is working with stakeholders, including labor unions, to “invest in programs that benefit not only businesses but also workers.”

He said the DOL is talking with unions to join such an initiative, which has not yet been launched, called the AI ​​Workforce Hub. Unions including the AFL-CIO, Communication Workers of America and National Nurses United said they have yet to hear anything from the DOL about the initiative.

One of the goals of the Department of Labor’s AI literacy course appears to be to get people to use AI more.

“Now that I have completed the course, how often will I use AI tools?”
A: Every day or almost every day
B: Several times a week
C: Sometimes for specific tasks
D: Not yet, but I’m more open now.

For students who answer “sometimes,” answer in part:

✔️Don’t worry!
➕ This week, choose one everyday task that AI can help with.

For those who answered “several times a week,” they wrote:

That seems to be the focus of Arist CEO Michael Ioffe. “What we’re seeing from early data is that this course is increasing the use of AI in a very meaningful way,” he said at a conference in late March, where he joined Stockton on stage.