The Department of Labor has issued new guidance, the “Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework,” detailing the DOL’s aspirations for the adoption of AI by workers, employers, educators, job trainers, and governments.
What is AI Literacy?
According to the DOL framework, AI literacy is “a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly.” The DOL’s primary concern is ensuring that the American workforce receives exposure and training to AI so that they may successfully adopt it. The DOL’s concerns include (1) productivity; (2) new AI-related job opportunities; (3) operational efficiency; (4) business competitive advantage; (5) development of training programming so that workers have the requisite AI skills needed for jobs that use AI; and (6) adoption by state and local government to align AI use with regional needs.
In the guidance, the DOL separates its AI Literacy Framework into two sections: (1) Foundational Content Areas of AI Literacy, and (2) Delivery Principles of AI Literacy.
Section 1: Foundational Content Areas of AI Literacy
Foundational content areas of AI literacy include the following:
- Develop an understanding of what AI is, how it is designed (by humans), how it can be properly overseen (by human users), and both its capabilities and limits.
- Explore how to apply AI effectively across industries and across jobs to increase productivity, crunch data, process information, and solve problems.
- Direct and interact with AI effectively by learning how to create inputs that produce useful and relevant results, including the ability to craft clear instructions, include necessary context, and continuously guide the system toward better outcomes.
- Evaluate AI outputs to assess the quality and usefulness of AI outputs so that a user can identify areas where AI use is most useful, complete, and accurate. Evaluation should also include close human oversight to recognize errors, flawed logic, faulty assumptions, and other input-based or AI-based inaccuracies that may result in poor results.
- Responsibly use AI to protect confidential information, prevent unethical applications or other misuse, and comply with both organizational and legal rules. Users of AI tools must recognize that both AI input and output may have risks and safeguards should be observed.
Section 2: Delivery Principles of AI Literacy
Meanwhile, delivery principles of AI literacy include the following:
- Enable “experiential learning” by direct, hands-on use for real-work tasks and problems, along with critical review and side-by-side comparisons with human work.
- Embed AI tool uses that are relevant to an individual’s job, industry, or training experience to streamline AI incorporation and reinforce its adoption.
- Build skills on how to effectively use AI to supplement, not replace, human thinking and skills.
- Address AI tool use prerequisites, including barriers such as digital literacy and overall access to AI tools.
- Create pathways for ongoing learning and integration of AI tools, especially as such technologies evolve.
- Prepare management roles with knowledge, training, and tools to guide workers’ use of AI.
- Adapt to changes, remain up-to-date, and continuously update AI tools — both the technology itself, and its uses — to deliver the best and most efficient outcomes.
For workers, the DOL framework acknowledges that “[w]hile some workers may be concerned about whether AI will impact their job security,” AI tools unlock enhanced productivity and potential opportunities for career advancement. The DOL lists several “routine tasks” that workers can use AI to complete more efficiently, including drafting emails, summarizing reports, and organizing data.
For employers, the DOL encourages employers to “build AI literacy across their workforce, preparing employees to work effectively and responsibly with AI tools.” The DOL notes that employers should onboard, train, and manage an implementation and expansion of AI tools to build “AI-ready workforces.” The framework further states that employers should provide staff with “clear internal guidance on appropriate AI use, and identify roles that may require deeper [non-AI] proficiency.” Doing so consistently across the workforce allows all workers to have the same entry point to access AI in the workplace. This could help re-energize employees who may feel alienated by new technology.
For educators and job trainers, the DOL seeks to “guide curriculum development” to integrate AI literacy, including what content to teach, how to assess competency, or how to keep pace with AI technology evolution. The DOL stresses that collaboration between training programs and local employers is key to provide “hands-on experience using AI tools” that are “most relevant to regional labor market needs.” According to the DOL, successful adoption will help enhance graduate employability, meet industry demands, and position these programs as responsive to workforce needs.
For state and local government, the DOL focuses on “preparing students and job seekers for evolving labor market needs, while addressing [current] employer demand for AI-ready workers.” Essentially, the DOL directs agencies to integrate AI literacy into its programming (such as those sponsored by the federal government) and to investigate how its jurisdiction has adopted AI so that agencies can strategically align with the AI needs of its local employers, educators, and training programs.
The DOL’s hope is that these spaces will explore AI use and identify “where AI saves times and where human oversight and judgment are especially important.” Notably, the DOL does not make any value judgments on those instances.
Ballard Spahr’s Labor and Employment Group continues to advise employers on labor, employment, and policy issues. We will keep monitoring developments under the new administration and their impact on employers. Please contact us if we can assist you with these matters.