Urban Institute and AEI Launch Bipartisan Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the American Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC, June 11, 2026 - The Urban Institute and the American Enterprise Institute today launched the Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the American Workforce, a twelve-month effort to assess how artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs, skills, and earnings, and to develop policy options that help workers, employers, and government entities adapt.

The commission brings together 20 commissioners from business, labor, academia, and government. Former commerce secretary and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and former speaker of the house Paul Ryan will serve as co-chairs. The work is directed by Brent Orrell, senior fellow at AEI, and Elisabeth Jacobs, executive director of WorkRise at the Urban Institute.

The commission will organize its work around six research tracks and report findings on a twelve-month timeline. It will examine how AI adoption affects specific occupations and wage levels, what the technology means for upskilling and reskilling workers, and what kinds of education and training may be valuable under uncertain conditions. The commission will recommend policy options tailored to various implementation scenarios.

"Artificial intelligence can widen the gap between who gets ahead and who gets left behind-or it can be the greatest engine of opportunity in a generation," said Gina Raimondo, co-chair of the commission. "Which one we get depends on the choices we make now. That's why this commission matters: to follow the evidence on what actually prepares workers for the shift ahead-the right training, the right transition infrastructure-and recommend the policies that match."

"Artificial intelligence will change how millions of Americans earn a living, and we must ensure AI catalyzes upward mobility and preserves the dignity of work," said Paul Ryan, co-chair of the commission. "Bringing AEI and the Urban Institute together signals that this is a problem for the whole country, not just one party. I want this commission to offer practical solutions so AI can be utilized in a way that elevates, equips, and empowers the American workforce and to provide policymakers with an evidence-based, forward-looking roadmap to foster robust economic growth."

"AEI exists to defend and strengthen a free and opportunity-rich society, and few questions matter more to that goal than the future of work," said Robert Doar, president of AEI. "We have partnered with the Urban Institute because rigorous, nonpartisan analysis carries more weight when it draws on the best ideas from across the spectrum. The aim is practical guidance that helps workers and the institutions that serve them."

"The promise of artificial intelligence will mean little if workers and communities can't adapt to the consequences and gain the benefits," said Sarah Rosen Wartell, president of the Urban Institute. "Urban brings decades of data and policy insights on questions of economic transformation, and we intend to test claims on the impacts of AI against evidence rather than rhetoric and assumption. We are glad to work with AEI to give the public and policymakers evidence and solutions they can trust."

The commission will release interim products and a final report over the coming year and will convene public sessions and private workshops with employers, workers, researchers, and state and federal officials. The initiative will formally launch at a virtual public event at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 11.

About the American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world. The work of our scholars and staff advances ideas rooted in our belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of our society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.

About the Urban Institute

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization founded on one simple idea: To improve lives and strengthen communities, we need practices and policies that work. For more than 50 years, that has been our charge. By equipping changemakers with evidence and solutions, together we can create a future where every person and community has the opportunity and power to thrive.

Media contact:

Lexi Baker, American Enterprise Institute: [email protected]; (202) 862-5829

Jacinth Jones, Urban Institute: [email protected]; (202) 261-5709