Labor Unions Can’t Keep Up With AI

The AFL-CIO, representing 65 unions and over 15 million workers, convened in Minneapolis for its first convention since 2022, with leaders rallying against the unchecked use of artificial intelligence. Offstage, labor officials acknowledged they are struggling to keep pace with the rapid deployment of AI, describing their efforts as a losing game of "whack-a-mole" to protect workers. The gathering underscored organized labor's growing alarm that it cannot effectively counter the technology's impact on jobs and workplace rights.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — “AI SHOULD WORK FOR US” read the lighted banner atop the stage at the convention for the largest labor union federation in the United States. Sixty-five unions representing more than 15 million workers had gathered for the first time since 2022, when artificial intelligence was still an emerging technology. This time, speaker after speaker rallied the crowd to fight against the unlimited use of AI. Offstage at the AFL-CIO conference, labor leaders said they’re playing whack-a-mole to protect their workers from the rapid deployment of the technology — and it’s a game they feel likely to stay the underdog in for years to come.