EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 PM ET, DECEMBER 20, 2016
The previous report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, discusses workforce
needs, including the strong case for increasing diversity, and lays out a detailed plan for AI
workforce development.^46
Support market competition
Competition from new and existing firms has always played an important role in the creation and
adoption of new technologies and innovations, and this is no different in the case of AI. Startups
are a critical pathway for the commercialization of innovative new ideas and products. Startups,
or the possibility of entry by a startup, also incentivize established firms to innovate and reduce
costs. Competition pushes firms to invest in new technologies that help to lower costs, and also
to invest in innovations that can lead to improvements in the quality of existing products.
The rapid evolution of technology can pose challenges for developing sound pro-competition
policies, both in terms of defining the scope of the market as well as assessing the degree of
contestability or the possibilities for disruption. For example, while it is probably too early to
assess the role of AI in competition policy, one might imagine that when a large incumbent has
access to most of the customer data in the market, it is able to use AI to refine its products better
than any potential entrant could hope, and can thereby effectively foreclose entry.
Strategy #2: Educate and Train Americans for Jobs of the Future
As AI changes the nature of work and the skills demanded by the labor market, American
workers will need to be prepared with the education and training that can help them continue to
succeed. If the United States fails to improve at educating children and retraining adults with the
skills needed in an increasingly AI-driven economy, the country risks leaving millions of
Americans behind and losing its position as the global economic leader.
The United States led the world in economic gains from the industrial revolution in part due to
major investments in its workforce. In the 20th century, America shifted from a mostly agrarian
economy to an industrial economy. During this period, as today, the type of work and skills
required to do work underwent a major transformation. To meet the needs of the new economy,
the United States rapidly expanded access to education through high school, and by 1930
America was far ahead of European countries in terms of widely available, free, and publically-
provided secondary education.^47 The average American born in 1951 had 6.2 more years of
schooling than an American born in 1876. These increases in schooling led to tangible economic
gains: economists estimate that educational attainment explains 14 percent of annual increases in
(^46) The White House, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence,
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/whitehouse_files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/preparing_for_the_future_o
f_ai.pdf).
(^47) Ajay Chaudry, “The Case for Early Education in the Emerging Economy,” Roosevelt Institute-The New American
Economy’s Learning Series, August 2016, p. 3 (http://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/The-Case-
for-Early-Education-in-the-Emerging-Economy.pdf).