Bipartisan Bill Aims to Track AI’s Impact on American Jobs
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is prompting a legislative response, as policymakers grapple with the potential for widespread job displacement. A new bipartisan bill, the AI-Related Jobs Impacts Clarity Act, seeks to provide a clearer picture of how AI is reshaping the American workforce.
Senators Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced the legislation early last month, aiming to establish a system for tracking job losses directly attributable to AI implementation. If enacted, the bill would require both companies and federal agencies to report AI-related layoffs to the Department of Labor on a quarterly basis. This data would then be compiled into a public report for Congress and the broader public, offering critical insights into the evolving landscape of work.
“Artificial intelligence is already replacing American workers, and experts project AI could drive unemployment up to 10 to 20% in the next five years,” Hawley stated. “The American people need to have an accurate understanding of how AI is affecting our workforce, so we can ensure that AI works for the people, not the other way around.”
The push for greater transparency comes amid a surge in layoff announcements across various sectors. Through the end of the current year, U.S.-based employers have announced plans to cut approximately 1.2 million jobs, according to a recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a firm specializing in tracking nationwide layoffs. Notably, a growing number of companies – including Duolingo, Salesforce, and Klarna – have explicitly cited AI as a factor in their recent workforce reductions.
According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas in October, AI was cited as the reason for roughly 48,000 layoffs expected in 2025, making it the second-most-cited factor for job cuts. However, currently, there is no official, centralized tracking of AI’s impact on the job market. Warner emphasized that without reliable data, Congress will be hampered in its ability to formulate effective policies.
“This bipartisan legislation will finally give us a clear picture of AI’s impact on the workforce – what jobs are being eliminated, which workers are being retrained, and where new opportunities are emerging,” Warner said. “Armed with this information, we can make sure AI drives opportunity instead of leaving workers behind.”
Experts largely agree that increased data collection is a crucial first step. Oliver Roberts, a co-director of WashU Law’s AI Collaborative, described the proposed legislation as a positive development. He cautioned, however, that the current wave of AI-driven layoffs may be just the beginning.
“I very much believe that we could see the great AI replacement — that is, thousands and even millions of people getting laid off from their jobs,” Roberts explained. “If your job is something like data entry or going through repeatable processes, your job could be easily automated by artificial intelligence.”
While some analyses offer a more tempered outlook, the potential for disruption remains significant. A Goldman Sachs report from August estimated that roughly 2.5% of U.S. employment could be at risk if AI adoption continues to expand, with occupations like computer programmers, accountants, and auditors facing heightened vulnerability. However, the report expressed skepticism about large-scale employment reductions in the next decade.
Conversely, a Future of Jobs report from the World Economic Forum in early 2025 projected a more complex scenario, suggesting that AI and automation could displace as many as 92 million jobs globally by 2030, while simultaneously creating 170 million new roles.
Roberts noted that the rapid improvement of AI programs is accelerating the timeline for potential job displacement. While current large language models still exhibit inaccuracies – often referred to as “hallucinations” – he believes that as these models become more reliable, companies will increasingly view AI as a viable and cost-effective alternative to human labor.
Legislators, he argued, must act proactively to gather the necessary data to inform potential interventions. While the Hawley-Warner bill wouldn’t halt the integration of AI into the workforce, it would significantly enhance Congress’s ability to monitor the shifting dynamics. A visual representation of job displacement projections by sector would be beneficial here.
“We may see a world in the future where we have many mass layoffs, and people are not getting hired, and there’s not new jobs due to all this automation,” Roberts said. “That is when we’ll probably see that come to Jesus moment where we have to have the discussion. What is the future work going to look like? How are people going to sustain a living in this new world?”
