Indiana workforce experts told federal lawmakers on Wednesday that they have not seen artificial intelligence wipe out a significant number of Hoosier jobs, though there have been impacts from the technology.
And while researchers can see some clear trends — such as early career pathways being disrupted — improvements to the size and scope of federal data collection efforts are needed in order to best prepare the workforce for changes from artificial intelligence, the experts said at the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workforce Safety.
EmployIndy President and CEO Ken Clark and Carol Rogers, director of the Indiana Business Research Center, both testified at the subcommittee in support of the AI Workforce PREPARE Act.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Jim Banks in December with bipartisan support, would establish an AI Workforce Research Hub. It aims to improve assessments of the effect of AI on the workforce at federal agencies with the goal of making job training programs better.
Despite early warnings that the adoption of AI is set to lead to mass layoffs, there is little evidence of that happening so far.
Job cuts at some major companies over the past few years were in part attributed to AI, but many economists said there were possibly other factors at play such as high interest rates and companies previously over-hiring, according to researchers at Stanford University.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that hiring has modestly picked up at many of these same large companies.
There remain a lot of unknowns.
Clark said most employers have told EmployIndy that AI is changing how work is done but not eliminating the need for people.
“When the new IU Health hospital being built now in Indianapolis opens, AI will help summarize patient information for clinical review for a nurse,” he said. “The goal isn’t to replace nurses, we need more nurses very clearly, it’s to give them more time with patients and less time in front of the computer.”
For now, there are definite impacts to people who are just starting their careers, said Clark.
This could create challenges down the line for building talent in more advanced roles, he said.
“Every experienced professional was once an entry level employee,” Clark said.
He said there needs to be a greater focus on getting entry level employees, “job ready.” Indiana has already started to address this by offering employment readiness seals on high school diplomas for students who complete at least 75 hours of work-based learning, Clark said.
Certain jobs and industries are more exposed to AI than others, Rogers told the subcommittee.
Recent research by the Indiana Business Research Center found that since 2022, Indiana Department of Workforce data shows there has been a 41% dip in job postings for AI-exposed careers and a 35% dip in postings for careers that are less exposed.
Still, wages in the more-exposed careers grew quicker.
“It looks less like mass job elimination, more like market-based pricing and reallocation,” Rogers said.
Rogers also advocated for the federal data collection effort to better integrate existing state data, set clearer definitions to measure how companies are using AI and to get researchers better access to federal data.