America’s workforce is in desperate need of a data overhaul
America’s workforce is in desperate need of a data overhaul
By Julia Lane | Published: 2024-12-05 18:00:00 | Source: The Present – Big Think
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a few years ago, I said that the United States urgently needs a national data service. As I wrote at the time, the Founding Fathers could not have anticipated the fragility of our national public measurement system, even if they knew that collecting data to determine representation was necessary so that the governed would have a voice in their government.
The years that followed have emphasized the need for a new approach to producing public data. And even the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a federal agency tasked with producing data to guide Congress, largely Increased population numbers This year in developing its own population estimates. Central Bank of Oman revised Migration estimates It has significantly affected its projections for population, labor force participation, consumer spending, and personal income, with significant implications for government revenue projections. Accurate data isn’t just important to Congress: The Fed also relies on employment and spending data when it makes interest rate decisions that affect broad swaths of the economy, from renters and homebuyers to companies raising capital.
Now, on a more granular level, there is a looming question about the impact of AI on jobs. Is Goldman Sachs right when… It predicts that artificial intelligence could replace 300 million jobs? Or is MIT economist David Autor right? When he says AI will help low-wage workers? Understanding the impact of AI on jobs is critical to formulating policies that ensure economic stability and workforce preparedness.
The bad news is that census data is no better for AI than population estimates. The Census Bureau’s approach is to survey companies using outdated methodology, relying primarily on a company official to answer questions about the impact of artificial intelligence as part of a 52-page survey about their business. It is not surprising that Figures from the latest Census Bureau report This reflects the low rate of AI adoption in companies – less than 5 percent, and even lower in “Snapshot“Survey.
However, as with demographic data, accurate and timely data on the impact of AI on jobs is essential for a thriving economy. Jobs are the bedrock of our communities, and local labor markets are where companies connect with workers and where people find opportunities. Unreliable information about job trends can have serious consequences for both employers and employees.
A Last scan It highlights the urgency of this issue: 64 percent of students graduating in 2027 say AI has already impacted their academic plans. However, these students make important educational investments based on potentially outdated or inaccurate information about future job opportunities.
We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past, such as when we ignored the impact on rural America Loss of manufacturing jobsIt failed to enact policies that could have softened the blow. To build a prosperous future, we need local, timely, actionable data that enables individuals to make informed career choices and businesses to thrive.
As I did Argue constantlyNew data, evidence and statistics must be created outside the scope of government. There are a lot of good people working in the federal government, but the bureaucracy cannot be flexible in hiring and paying the right people, in modernizing the computing infrastructure, and in obtaining approvals and funding. For fast-moving fields like AI, private and non-profit sectors outside government need to take the lead on innovation and allow government to benefit by incorporating what is subsequently learned into the data pipeline it produces. A new, independent entity must be created.
It is increasingly clear that this should be a new center for data and evidence outside the federal government. The center should be designed to ensure that the results are current, flexible and demand-driven. It must respond to incentives that the current federal data system lacks to be able to respond to new needs. This means that the new center must be independently and nonpartisan funded, securely hosting data and supporting programs and research with demand-driven, bottom-up tools and insights for businesses, workers and governments.
Many successful organizations have set precedents. Take, for example, a person who is highly respected Urban Institute and MDRC. Each organization was established with joint funding from a government agency and a charitable foundation to conduct independent research and analysis. Although the funding structure may be similar, the center’s design will reflect our new reality. Such a center will:
Use recent data – The center should start by getting better data on the impact of AI on jobs. Companies post thousands of listings daily about available jobs, skill needs, and salary ranges. Workers post thousands of resumes daily about their skills, experience, and desired salaries. By analyzing job advertisements and CVs, the center will provide local insights to businesses, workers and policy makers. This data can help companies optimize location and wages, enable workers to acquire needed skills, and enable policymakers to allocate training funds effectively. Statewide initiatives have been done in New Jersey, Arkansas and Texas The foundation has already been laid.
Make sure the data is correct – Data from multiple sources must be examined and consolidated. The Center should support a consortium of stakeholders to design and introduce global data and metadata architectures, develop common legal frameworks, establish core technology standards, and create privacy protections that can quickly simplify and professionalize access to and use of new data sources across the country. The tools developed must be compatible with those interoperable standards so that the best ideas can be reproduced and scaled across the country.
Bringing together the best minds in the world – The center should bring together the world’s best minds through fellowships, training and competitions. Their primary task should be to describe the impact of AI on workers’ jobs, companies, training providers, and legislators. They will be tasked with producing open source tools for building cutting-edge data and analytics that are reproducible and reproducible – e.g Guarantor laboratories For the common good. The foundations for such infrastructure already exist. The Innovation and Science Research Institute was built Prototype system Measures the economic impact of federal investments in research and technology. the National data platformwas created jointly by the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the University of Utah Scientific Institute for Computing and ImagingAnd funded by National Research Resources for Artificial Intelligence The pilot is designed to support the national unified data ecosystem with modern workflow tools and equitable access.
Be demand driven – Although the center may start with artificial intelligence and the labor market, it must be designed to respond to changing demands and high-priority needs. Fellowships, advisory groups, detailing, or training classes can all be ways to bring in new people and ideas to develop new tools and metrics in ways that are useful, transparent, interpretable, and fair.
Good data can provide signals for policymakers to chart paths where AI leads to good jobs, not job losses. It is now possible to track the impact of AI on jobs By tracking AI investments in university research through to corporate hiring. It is now in the realm of possibility to produce high-quality, timely, local and actionable data to ensure the resilience of massive demand shocks, such as the global financial crisis. Chips and science or Reducing inflation Businesses lead to higher-paying, more stable jobs. This includes monitoring earnings, hiring, and skills demand for employers who focus on AI research intensively. Such data can enhance federal policymaking by informing the use of better data, metrics, and methods.
As economist Herb Stein said: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” We are close to the stopping point. The current data system is outdated, cumbersome and expensive In crisis. We cannot continue to make decisions blindly. The new center will require new investments, but in this case, the cost of building a new center is likely to be much lower than relying on the old alternative. Most importantly, the value of developing a modern, resilient, trustworthy, and accessible foundation is invaluable for enhancing our nation’s prosperity and individuals’ opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
Julia Lin He is a professor at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. It has co-founded or co-launched a number of national public data infrastructures, including… LED program In the Census Bureau, he worked in National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Research Resources. She is the author ofDemocratizing our data: a manifesto“.
this condition Originally published on MIT Press Reader.
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