Tom Steyer proposes a jobs guarantee for workers displaced by AI

In short: California governor candidate Tom Steyer proposed guaranteeing jobs with benefits for workers who lose their jobs because of AI.

What happened

Tom Steyer, a billionaire running for governor of California, announced a new plan focused on workers who may be pushed out of their jobs by artificial intelligence. His campaign says he is the first statewide candidate to make a jobs guarantee pledge tied directly to AI.

The proposal says California should ensure “good-paying” jobs for people impacted by AI. Steyer says the state could fund this partly through a “token tax,” which would charge large tech companies a tiny amount for each unit of data processed by AI (think of it like a very small fee each time an AI system does a bit of work).

Steyer says the money would flow into a state investment pool he calls the Golden State Sovereign Wealth Fund. Some of that funding would be set aside for jobs like building housing, supporting health care services, and updating the state’s energy systems. The plan also calls for more training and apprenticeship programs.

The proposal would also expand unemployment insurance and create a new state agency called the AI Worker Protection Administration. The memo reviewed by WIRED says it would include union leaders, academics, and technologists, and it would write rules meant to protect workers’ rights.

Steyer’s plan arrives as other lawmakers and candidates propose their own responses to job disruption. For example, his Democratic primary opponent Xavier Becerra released an AI plan that supports workforce transition help, but does not name a specific way to pay for it.

Why it matters

If AI replaces parts of today’s jobs, the biggest immediate risk for many people is lost income and lost benefits. Steyer is putting a clear promise on the table, but the hard questions will be how much it costs, who pays, and whether California can do it while the federal government signals it may push back on tougher state AI rules.

Source: Wired