The Washington Roundtable’s Evan Osnos interviews the former Commerce Secretary and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo about a problem she’s been working on since she left the Biden Administration: how to make sure that the A.I. revolution does not leave American workers behind. Drawing on her father’s experience of losing his factory job in the wake of outsourcing to China, Raimondo warns against repeating the mistakes of the past and argues that the U.S. needs a plan to help workers navigate the A.I. transition. “We can’t put the toothpaste back in the bottle. A.I. is out there,” Raimondo says. “We want to harness the good, but be intentional about having a plan and safeguards for the bad.” She also discusses why Democrats should focus not just on affordability but on the politics and promise of prosperity and the American Dream.

This week’s reading:

• “A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
• “If A.I. Takes the Jobs of Young People, How Will They React?,” by Jay Caspian Kang
• “What Does the Humbling of Leopold Aschenbrenner Mean for the A.I. Bubble?,” by John Cassidy
• “Is D.N.C. Chair the Worst Job in Washington?,” by Ruby Cramer
• “The Delusions of John Roberts,” by Margaret Talbot

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

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