Today, in order to ready the United States for a future in which artificial intelligence (AI) plays a growing role, the White House released a report on Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy. This report follows up on the Administration’s previous report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, which was released in October 2016, and which recommended that the White House publish a report on the economic impacts of artificial intelligence by the end of 2016.

Accelerating AI capabilities will enable automation of some tasks that have long required human labor. These transformations will open up new opportunities for individuals, the economy, and society, but they will also disrupt the current livelihoods of millions of Americans. The new report examines the expected impact of AI-driven automation on the economy, and describes broad strategies that could increase the benefits of AI and mitigate its costs.

AI-driven automation will transform the economy over the coming years and decades. The challenge for policymakers will be to update, strengthen, and adapt policies to respond to the economic effects of AI.

Although it is difficult to predict these economic effects precisely, the report suggests that policymakers should prepare for five primary economic effects:

• Positive contributions to aggregate productivity growth;
• Changes in the skills demanded by the job market, including greater demand for higher-level technical skills;
• Uneven distribution of impact, across sectors, wage levels, education levels, job types, and locations;
• Churning of the job market as some jobs disappear while others are created; and
• The loss of jobs for some workers in the short-run, and possibly longer depending on policy responses.

There is substantial uncertainty about how strongly these effects will be felt and how rapidly they will arrive. It is possible that AI will not have large, new effects on the economy, such that the coming years are subject to the same basic workforce trends seen in recent decades—some of which are positive, and others which are worrisome and may require policy changes. At the other end of the range of possibilities, the economy might experience a larger shock, with accelerating changes in the job market, and significantly more workers in need of assistance and retraining as their skills no longer match the demands of the job market. Given available evidence, it is not possible to make specific predictions, so policymakers must be prepared for a range of potential outcomes. At a minimum, some occupations such as drivers and cashiers are likely to face displacement from or a restructuring of their current jobs.

Because the effects of AI-driven automation will be felt across the whole economy, and the areas of greatest impact may be difficult to predict, policy responses must be targeted to the whole economy. In addition, the economic effects of AI-driven automation may be difficult to separate from those of other factors such as other forms of technological change, globalization, reduction in market competition and worker bargaining power, and the effects of past public policy choices. Even if it is not possible to determine how much of the current transformation of the economy is caused by each of these factors, the policy challenges raised by the disruptions remain, and require a broad policy response.

In the cases where it is possible to direct mitigations to particularly affected places and sectors, those approaches should be pursued. But more generally, the report suggests three broad strategies for addressing the impacts of AI-driven automation across the whole U.S. economy:

1. Invest in and develop AI for its many benefits;
2. Educate and train Americans for jobs of the future; and
3. Aid workers in the transition and empower workers to ensure broadly shared growth.

The report details what can be done to execute on these strategies. Continued engagement between government, industry, technical and policy experts, and the public should play an important role in moving the Nation toward policies that create broadly shared prosperity, unlock the creative potential of American companies and workers, advance diversity and inclusion of the technical community in AI, and ensure the Nation’s continued leadership in the creation and use of AI.
Beyond this report, more work remains, to further explore the policy implications of AI. Most notably, AI creates important opportunities in cyberdefense, and can improve systems to detect fraudulent transactions and messages. 

President Obama will travel to Pittsburgh, PA, on October 13 to host the White House Frontiers Conference, bringing together the Nation’s top innovators to discuss how new frontiers in science and technology will help improve lives and shape the future.  Today, we’re excited to announce more details about the event, which will include voices from five frontiers of innovation—personal, local, national, global, and interplanetary.  From developing personalized treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s or cancer, to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to improve lives, to sending humans to Mars, the conference will explore innovations that hold the potential to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges and keep America on the cutting edge.   

The White House is co-hosting the Frontiers Conference with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The event will include topics inspired by the November issue of WIRED, where guest-editor President Obama will explore the theme of “Frontiers” that will shape the coming decades. 

President Obama to Participate in a Conversation on the Future of Medicine and Health Care Innovation

As part of the Personal Frontiers dialogue, President Obama will join a conversation with Atul Gawande and innovators in medicine and health care to discuss future health breakthroughs, such as those being driven by the Administration’s BRAIN and Precision Medicine Initiatives.

The conference’s plenary session will also include a talk by Tim O’Reilly, one of the leading voices in how the online world will continue to evolve; a live podcast with Roman Mars, the host of 99% Invisible, and Raj Chetty, whose work on economic mobility is changing how we think about inequality in America; remarks from Charles Orgbon III who will bring a student’s voice to the imperative of addressing our climate challenges; and a discussion on increasing access to space with panelists including NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, Erika Wagner from Blue Origin, and Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space explorer.

The Five Frontiers of Innovation

Personal Frontiers will give participants a window into the next breakthroughs in health care innovation and precision medicine.  Speakers will include:

• Dean Kamen, Founder, DEKA Research and Development
• Freda Lewis-Hall, Chief Medical Officer and EVP, Pfizer
• James Park, CEO, Fitbit
• Other speakers will include: University of California, San Francisco; University of Pittsburgh; FasterCures; OpenAPS; Columbia University; MIT Media Lab; and the National Institutes of Health

Local Frontiers will explore how we can leverage technology, data, and community engagement to build smarter and more inclusive communities, including through innovative new approaches to transportation challenges, criminal justice reform, leveraging local data, and innovative education.  Speakers will include:

• Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation
• Mayor William Peduto, City of Pittsburgh, and Mayor Ed Lee, City of San Francisco
• Robin Chase, Co-Founder and former CEO, Zipcar
• Other speakers will include: Streetwyze; BitSource; University of Chicago; City of Knoxville Police Department; and the Massachussets Department of Public Health

National Frontiers will explore how companies and leading thinkers are working to responsibly harness the potential of artificial intelligence, including data science, machine learning, automation, and robotics to engage and benefit all Americans. Speakers will include:

• Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf
• Denis McDonough, White House Chief of Staff
• Fei-Fei Li, Computer Science Professor, Stanford University
• Other speakers will include: University of Illinois, Chicago; Johns Hopkins University; Microsoft; Google; Facebook; IBM; Uber; Texas A&M; DARPA; University of Pittsburgh; CMU; University of California, Berkeley; University of Washington; and MIT

Global Frontiers will discuss strategies to combat the global threat of climate change by accelerating the clean energy revolution and developing advanced climate information, tools, services, and collaborations.  Speakers will include:

• Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, X
• Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14)
• Brooke Runnette, Executive Vice President, Chief Program and Impact Officer, National Geographic Society
• Other speakers will include: Opus12; University of California, Berkeley; Energy Excelerator; Esri; Amazon Web Services; MIT; CMU; Louisiana State University; and Prairie A&M University

Interplanetary Frontiers will reach out to the “final frontier” and the next stage of space exploration, including the journey to Mars. Speakers will include:

• Dr. Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist, NASA
• Rod Roddenberry, Jr., CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment and Founder of the Roddenberry Foundation
• George Whitesides, CEO, Virgin Galactic
• Other speakers will include: Moon Express; Space Systems Loral; The Tauri Group; Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Adler Planetarium; Vanderbilt University; Planet, Made in Space; Astrobotic/CMU; and University of Colorado

In the coming days, we will announce additional speakers and information about the event. Check out www.frontiersconference.org in the days ahead for more details on the above participants and updates, and tune in there to watch sessions live on October 13.

In continued celebration of exploration and new frontiers, the Allegheny Observatory at the University of Pittsburgh will also host the White House Frontiers Conference Astronomy Night to close out the conference.  Featuring telescopes for stargazing, tours of the historic observatory, and astronomers, the event will bring together conference participants and students to celebrate science, innovation, and the spirit of discovery.

Have a question for one of our speakers?  We want to hear from you. Tweet your questions using #WHFrontiers.

President Barack Obama gets down on his hands and knees as he looks at the inner workings of a robot that plays soccer, built by a team from Blue Bell, Pa., as he tours science projects on display in the State Dining Room of the White House. President Obama hosted the White House Science Fair for winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions. October 18, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Next week – on Tuesday, May 27 – the White House is going to be filled with robots, science projects, and more. Students from around the country are headed to the 2014 White House Science Fair hosted by President Obama, and we couldn’t be more excited. With students from a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions, this year’s Fair will include a specific focus on girls and women who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work.

Stay tuned, because this week, we’ll be previewing some of the amazing girls who will be presenting their projects at the White House Science Fair. Since day one, the President has been committed to getting more underrepresented groups, including women and girls, excited to excel at STEM subjects. For example, in the Administration’s $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition, President Obama granted states competitive preference if they demonstrated efforts to close the STEM gap for girls and other groups that are underrepresented. 

The President began the tradition of hosting White House Science Fairs in 2009 when he launched his Educate to Innovate campaign to inspire more girls and boys to excel in STEM subjects. As the President has noted, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too."

In the run up to the Science Fair, we also want you to share your stories, and we want to highlight YOUR First Science Fair project. So for this Thursday’s Throw Back Thursday, tweet us a photo of your science fair projects and other STEM work from when you were a kid using #TBTsciencefair! Follow us here @WhiteHouse and @whitehouseostp as we plan to join in the fun as well.

To get us in the Science Fair frenzy, we’ve been reviewing the amazing videos, vines, and gifs from past years. You should too.

Raw Video: Marshmallow Launch at the White House Science Fair

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The 2013 White House Science Fair

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President Obama Tours the 2013 White House Science Fair

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Live from the White House Science Fair with LeVar Burton and Bill Nye

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The 2012 White House Science Fair

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The 2010 White House Science Fair

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Storify of the 2013 White House Science Fair