OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft and a host of other corporate backers have committed over $500 million to a newly formed nonprofit called RAISE US. The organization, led by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, will focus on helping American workers navigate the disruption caused by rapidly advancing artificial‑intelligence technology.
RAISE US positions itself as a people‑first strategy to complement the United States’ broader AI ambitions. Its backers include not only the AI labs themselves but also financial institutions and manufacturers such as Bank of America, IBM, Mastercard, AMD, Eli Lilly and the Rockefeller Foundation. The group’s immediate target is $1 billion in multi‑year commitments, a sum it hopes will fund a series of state‑level pilot programs.
State governments are the first arena for action. The nonprofit will launch pilots in Utah, Arkansas, Maryland and Connecticut, a deliberately bipartisan mix of governors. Those states control community colleges, credentialing processes and business incentives—key levers that determine whether displaced employees can be retrained or pushed out of the labor market.
In Arkansas, RAISE US is backing an AI‑driven career‑navigation platform dubbed Arkansas LAUNCH, designed to match job seekers with emerging opportunities. Maryland will expand a “service year” program for recent high‑school graduates, steering them into sectors with labor shortages such as health care. The nonprofit also plans to set up an accelerator to help displaced workers launch their own businesses.
Beyond training, RAISE US is experimenting with safety‑net concepts. One proposal involves a “wage‑insurance” model that supplements workers who take lower‑paying jobs instead of exiting the labor force. Another idea tests short‑time compensation, allowing firms to keep employees on reduced hours while they acquire new skills.
Corporate partners are not just writing checks; they are also offering operational support. Microsoft, for example, has shared its internal model of cross‑training junior lawyers with AI skills, enabling staff to shift roles as needs change. RAISE US intends to replicate that approach across a range of occupations.
The initiative’s governance includes labor representation. Liz Shuler, president of the AFL‑CIO, sits on the board, signaling a commitment to keep workers’ interests at the table. The group deliberately distances its policy lab from corporate sponsors, funding that arm with philanthropy to preserve independence.
RAISE US arrives at a moment of heightened anxiety about AI’s impact on employment. Estimates of potential job loss vary widely, and public sentiment toward AI has grown increasingly negative. While Congress and the White House have yet to pass comprehensive legislation on AI‑related workforce disruption, the private‑sector coalition hopes to fill that policy vacuum.
Critics point out that past corporate‑funded retraining efforts have delivered mixed results, and they question whether a nonprofit backed by rivals can remain impartial. Nonetheless, the organization’s leaders argue that the cost of inaction outweighs the uncertainty of outcomes.
Whether the $500 million seed fund and a handful of state pilots can meaningfully blunt the AI‑driven labor shift remains to be seen, but RAISE US represents a rare moment of collaboration among competing tech giants aimed at a shared national challenge.
Cet article a été rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA.
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