Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. So Google, keep in mind, was one of anthropics earliest investors, repetely buying equity in the AI firm, and as Emily mentioned, it's increasingly now backstopping the financing that underpins those data centers for the startup, So underscoring that complex business ties among the handful of largest tech companies pouring money into AI. Folks, it's AI's world and we're just revolving around it. And that brings
us to our next guest. Let's get to it with former US Secretary of Commerce Gino Rimondo. She served as the fortieth US Secretary of Commerce and seventy fifth governor of the state of Rhode Island.
She joins us from Washington, DC.
Secretary Rimondo is so nice to have you here with Emily and myself. I want to get right to it because I feel like every conversation we talk about artificial intelligence, the build out, the spend, but increasingly about the impact on the labor force globally and here in the United States. You recently responded to a comment on x by Metaplase
from his vice chairman, Dina Powell. She was announcing Meta's launch of a program to provide paid training, certification, and a job for Americans of all backgrounds to be part of building American leadership in the world. Your response, you say,
many Americans face a catch twenty two. They need training to get a new, higher paying job, but they can't go without pay to attend a training course, and that this initiative aims to solve this problem with paid apprenticeships and credentials that lead to actual available goods, good jobs. I should say, when it comes to AI and the impact on jobs, how do you see it? And is META on the right track?
You know, well, first spoke, good afternoon, and thank you for having me. I am an AI forward person. I think that the US does and needs to continue to lead in this global AI competition, and that means, of course being ahead with the technology, but it also means
having a strategy for people, right. I mean, we're not to win the global AIE race if we have great technology and sky high unemployment, and so I think it's time for the country to get very serious about changing the way we support people when they change jobs, and the way we train people.
And the thing that I.
Like about because we have to bring all Americans along. This cannot just be AI for the big tech and not bring everyone along. And so with this announcement, as I understand, you know what MET is doing here.
The thing I really liked.
About it was they're paying people while they do the training. And I know from when I was governor, I was a leader and a lot of these apprenticeship and training programs. People can't afford to do a six week or six month training program and not get paid, right, They're not going to finish that training program. So to the extent I've heard about this, like you said, I read about it yesterday.
I think it's first.
I think it's good that companies in America are stepping up to say let's get innovative and try to support workers. But I think it's important to say we're going to pay you while you get trained, and if you graduate, and if you get your credential, there will be a job at.
The end of that training.
Sectre. You wrote a guest essay for The New York Times earlier this year. It was entitled America cannot withstand the economic shock that's coming. What do you think the country? The Trump administration and lallmakers from both parties really need to do to address this very much feared economic and labor disruption that AI is expected to unleash.
We have to prepare for it. I think it is a transition. I do believe AI will create new jobs. Every technology has created disruption and job loss, but over time, new jobs, new industries, many many, many, many millions of jobs in our economy today did not exist even you know, twenty thirty years ago.
So I think we're going to get to that place.
However, there will be a transition, and I worry that during that transition, if we're not thoughtful and purposeful, too many Americans could be on the losing end of that transition. And so we need to get very serious right now and create new training initiatives like the one we're talking about.
But that is not enough. Training is not enough.
We need new incentives for companies to redeploy people. We need new you know, like a new safety net to help people transition from one job to the next. And so I think this calls for some pretty urgent action with the government, with employers, you know, with an all hands on deck moment, to create a people strategy to get us through this transition.
You know it's a US race, it's a global race, and I think about what TO is doing. They made some steps today in terms of being all in, and they do things differently as we know in China, Secretary of Mondo. So I'm just curious if we don't get this right in terms of how we are approaching it and protecting our labor force, but at the same time making sure that we are making the right investments and
moves when it comes to AI. When you've got China and the government in their deep pocket, will that put potentially the US at a disadvantage in many ways.
Yes, it will.
I've spent as much time as anyone thinking about how to protect America from China and how to compete with China technologically, economically, militarily, and we need to do both.
I personally oppose, you know, over.
Regulating AI or regulating the technology to a point that it would stifle innovation.
Again, I want America to lead.
However, I also would oppose putting our blinders on and letting AI out into the world without a plan for our workforce.
Because truthfully, if we do that, and if we wound up with extremely high unemployment, we won't win the AI race with China. We won't.
We will then have political unrest, economic unrest, deep recession, and frankly, a regulatory backlash. So I see no other alternative than to do both. To win, on the technology, to innovate, on the workforce models and the transition models and the support models.
We can do it.
America has consistently risen to the challenge in the face of these big challenges before, and if everybody works together, we can do it again.
You talk about America leading when it comes to AI, that means we need really great leadership. Boston Globe Today reporting that you are no longer considering running for president in twenty twenty eight. What do you want to see from a presidential candidate and could you possibly reconsider your own ambissions.
I'm smiling because no matter what interview I do, it inevitably gets to that question.
People have said to me they want a leader like you when it comes.
To that's very kind.
That is, you know, years away, which in politics might as well be decades. Look, since I've been out of government, this is the issue I've been focused on. I am fortunate to have the credibility in the business community. I was the Secretary of Commerce when AI, when.
Chat GBT was released. So I have, you.
Know, great credibility with all the tech leaders. I believe them by partisanship. I work with Republicans and Democrats. So what I'm focused on is how do I work really at the state level where things can happen with governors of both parties. You know, with companies like Listen, it's in no company's interest to have a deep recession and fifteen percent unemployment.
So any ceo, a CEO today has to do two things.
Implement AI and get in the boat to figure out a people transition. And so that's what I'm devoting my time and attention to because I think it's what the country needs, and I think I'm well positioned to work on that issue.
We know you have to run twenty seconds. Then what do you think we need though in a presidential candidate, considering the AI backdrop and all that's facing us real quickly.
A serious person, a serious person who can work with anyone, will work with anyone, go anywhere, do whatever it takes to solve americans problems, rebuild a middle class, and revive the American dream, which is work hard, get ahead, including in business all.
Right, Going to leave it there.
The door's always open. We'd love to talk to you further, so come back whenever. Gina Raymondo fortieth US Secretary of Commerce, of course under President Biden, and the seventy fifth Governor of the state of Rhode Island