Insights on AI governance, public sector innovation, and democracy
Showing 11 of 11 results in category "AI and Labor"
AI and Labor
What Is AI For? Four Questions Guiding Reboot This Fall
The public conversation about AI has swung from exuberance to alarm, casting AI as an unstoppable force. That framing overlooks the fact that public institutions design, build, buy, and regulate AI, and societies still choose where it leads. This fall, Reboot is organizing its coverage around four connected questions: what capabilities public institutions need, how they can become institutions that listen and learn, what public AI infrastructure requires, and how we measure whether AI is actually creating public value.
Published on Sep 14, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck and Elana Banin
AI and Labor
92NY State of America Summit: American Labor at 250
At 92NY’s State of America Summit, Beth Simone Noveck, Betsey Stevenson, and Allison Pugh discuss AI, the future of American labor, and whether technology will strengthen public voice or erode human connection.
Published on Jul 28, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck
AI and Labor
From AI Adoption to Public Value: InnovateUS Fall 2026 Live Learning Series
AI adoption in government is accelerating. The next challenge is making sure it creates public value. InnovateUS’s Fall 2026 Live Learning Series explores how public professionals can move beyond using AI to measuring its impact, governing it responsibly, and ensuring it improves outcomes for the people and communities government serves.
Published on Jun 30, 2026 by Agueda Quiroga
AI and Labor
From Access to Opportunity: How Governments Can Build Inclusive AI
Growing up in Kakuma refugee camp, Nhial Deng experienced what it means to be excluded from opportunities. Returning years later, he saw young people using AI not as aid, but as a tool to build skills, income, and futures in real time. This piece argues that AI is already functioning as an economic opportunity layer, but one that remains uneven and fragile without intentional design. Drawing on examples from Canada, Singapore, and Kenya, Deng outlines how governments can move from accidental access to structured opportunity by connecting AI to jobs, embedding it in trusted institutions, and building safeguards alongside deployment.
Published on Mar 25, 2026 by Nhial Deng
AI and Labor
Can AI help save us bureaucrats from our bureaucracy?
InnovateUS and the Center for Civic Futures are launching a new series exploring how AI can help human services agencies reduce administrative burden and improve benefits delivery. Drawing on Robert Asaro-Angelo’s experience as Commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, this post examines how agencies can use AI to help the public sector improve benefits delivery, reduce administrative burden, and better support both frontline staff and the people they serve.
Published on Mar 16, 2026 by Robert Asaro-Angelo
AI and Labor
Using AI to Help States Break Down Barriers to Skills-Based Hiring
Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a force that will destroy jobs. In this essay, Seth Harris argues that it can also expand opportunity. By using AI to identify and remove unnecessary college degree requirements in state hiring, governments can reduce barriers to public employment, address racial and class disparities, and fill critical roles more efficiently. Backed by new research underway from the Burnes Center for Social Change, supported by the GitLab Foundation, he outlines how thoughtfully deployed AI can break down barriers and accelerate the shift to skills-based hiring.
Published on Mar 3, 2026 by Seth Harris
AI and Labor
Launching the Observatory of Public Sector AI: An Invitation to Build the Evidence Base Together
The Observatory of Public Sector AI is a new research initiative of InnovateUS and The GovLab. The Observatory draws on anonymized data from more than 150,000 public servants nationwide. By analyzing how public employees learn, use, and adapt AI at work, the Observatory aims to identify which investments in skills and training strengthen government capacity, improve services, and deliver better outcomes for residents.
Published on Jan 26, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck, Anirudh Dinesh, Gregory Porumbescu, Allison Wan and Amanda Welsh
AI and Labor
The NLRB Has a Data Problem. One Lawyer Is Using AI to Fix It.
U.S. labor law is shaped by thousands of decisions issued each year by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the courts, yet much of this precedent remains difficult for workers, organizers, and even lawyers to access in practice. This piece examines how the NLRB’s fragmented document publication system creates real information barriers for workers and their advocates. A new tool, NLRB Research, uses open-source software and AI to make labor law searchable and and usable, demonstrating how improving access to public legal information can help empower workers to understand and act on their rights.
Published on Jan 13, 2026 by Dane Gambrell
AI and Labor
Learning Together to Improve Public Service
Since its creation in 2023, InnovateUS’s training offerings have supported public professionals in making sense of change together, building capacity, and strengthening their ability to make informed decisions in practice. Our Spring 2026 workshop offering, which we’re presenting today, reflects insights from learners, partners, and experts about the challenges facing public service today.
Published on Dec 15, 2025 by Agueda Quiroga
AI and Labor
Big Tech Wants AI Without Rules. Here’s How Workers are Fighting Back
AI is reshaping the workplace faster than public policy can keep up, often in ways that expand corporate power, weaken worker rights, and undermine democratic oversight. But across sectors, workers and unions are showing that this trajectory isn’t inevitable. Through collective bargaining, policy advocacy, and new uses of AI for organizing, they’re securing real guardrails on surveillance, algorithmic management, and job displacement. This piece explores how worker power will determine whether AI serves people or replaces them.
Published on Nov 24, 2025 by Dane Gambrell
AI and Labor
New America CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter Reflects on the National Gathering for State AI Leaders
As states take center stage in shaping how the U.S. adapts to artificial intelligence, their choices will determine not just whether America keeps pace, but whether it thrives. This summer, Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy convened state AI officers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and technologists for “Shaping the Future of AI: A National Gathering for State AI Leaders.” The two-day working conference focused on building practical, responsible frameworks for public-sector AI implementation. New America CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter closed the convening with a wide-ranging keynote that called for public AI infrastructure, trust-based governance, and co-creation across sectors. What follows is a summary of her 10 core takeaways.
InnovateUS 
