Economic Policy Institute 53d ago

There is much panic around AI’s impact on the labor market. Efforts to blame inequality and unemployment on AI and technology divert attention from the root cause: excess employer power. The best “AI policy” to protect workers would be boosting workers’ power by improving social insurance systems, removing barriers to organizing unions, and sustaining lower rates of unemployment. On Thursday, May 7, 2026, Economic Policy Institute’s Chief Economist Josh Bivens and Senior Economist Ben Zipperer joined Director of Government & Advocacy Samantha Sanders in a conversation on how policymakers should respond to the rise of AI. From the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC. www.epi.org