Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. So Google, keep in mind,
Speaker 1: was one of anthropics earliest investors, repetely buying equity in
Speaker 1: the AI firm, and as Emily mentioned, it's increasingly now
Speaker 1: backstopping the financing that underpins those data centers for the startup,
Speaker 1: So underscoring that complex business ties among the handful of
Speaker 1: largest tech companies pouring money into AI. Folks, it's AI's
Speaker 1: world and we're just revolving around it. And that brings
Speaker 1: us to our next guest. Let's get to it with
Speaker 1: former US Secretary of Commerce Gino Rimondo. She served as
Speaker 1: the fortieth US Secretary of Commerce and seventy fifth governor
Speaker 1: of the state of Rhode Island.
Speaker 2: She joins us from Washington, DC.
Speaker 1: Secretary Rimondo is so nice to have you here with
Speaker 1: Emily and myself. I want to get right to it
Speaker 1: because I feel like every conversation we talk about artificial intelligence,
Speaker 1: the build out, the spend, but increasingly about the impact
Speaker 1: on the labor force globally and here in the United States.
Speaker 1: You recently responded to a comment on x by Metaplase
Speaker 1: from his vice chairman, Dina Powell. She was announcing Meta's
Speaker 1: launch of a program to provide paid training, certification, and
Speaker 1: a job for Americans of all backgrounds to be part
Speaker 1: of building American leadership in the world. Your response, you say,
Speaker 1: many Americans face a catch twenty two. They need training
Speaker 1: to get a new, higher paying job, but they can't
Speaker 1: go without pay to attend a training course, and that
Speaker 1: this initiative aims to solve this problem with paid apprenticeships
Speaker 1: and credentials that lead to actual available goods, good jobs.
Speaker 1: I should say, when it comes to AI and the
Speaker 1: impact on jobs, how do you see it? And is
Speaker 1: META on the right track?
Speaker 3: You know, well, first spoke, good afternoon, and thank you
Speaker 3: for having me. I am an AI forward person. I
Speaker 3: think that the US does and needs to continue to
Speaker 3: lead in this global AI competition, and that means, of
Speaker 3: course being ahead with the technology, but it also means
Speaker 3: having a strategy for people, right. I mean, we're not
Speaker 3: to win the global AIE race if we have great
Speaker 3: technology and sky high unemployment, and so I think it's
Speaker 3: time for the country to get very serious about changing
Speaker 3: the way we support people when they change jobs, and
Speaker 3: the way we train people.
Speaker 2: And the thing that I.
Speaker 3: Like about because we have to bring all Americans along.
Speaker 3: This cannot just be AI for the big tech and
Speaker 3: not bring everyone along. And so with this announcement, as
Speaker 3: I understand, you know what MET is doing here.
Speaker 2: The thing I really liked.
Speaker 3: About it was they're paying people while they do the training.
Speaker 3: And I know from when I was governor, I was
Speaker 3: a leader and a lot of these apprenticeship and training programs.
Speaker 3: People can't afford to do a six week or six
Speaker 3: month training program and not get paid, right, They're not
Speaker 3: going to finish that training program. So to the extent
Speaker 3: I've heard about this, like you said, I read about
Speaker 3: it yesterday.
Speaker 2: I think it's first.
Speaker 3: I think it's good that companies in America are stepping
Speaker 3: up to say let's get innovative and try to support workers.
Speaker 3: But I think it's important to say we're going to
Speaker 3: pay you while you get trained, and if you graduate,
Speaker 3: and if you get your credential, there will be a
Speaker 3: job at.
Speaker 2: The end of that training.
Speaker 4: Sectre. You wrote a guest essay for The New York
Speaker 4: Times earlier this year. It was entitled America cannot withstand
Speaker 4: the economic shock that's coming. What do you think the country?
Speaker 4: The Trump administration and lallmakers from both parties really need
Speaker 4: to do to address this very much feared economic and
Speaker 4: labor disruption that AI is expected to unleash.
Speaker 3: We have to prepare for it. I think it is
Speaker 3: a transition. I do believe AI will create new jobs.
Speaker 3: Every technology has created disruption and job loss, but over time,
Speaker 3: new jobs, new industries, many many, many, many millions of
Speaker 3: jobs in our economy today did not exist even you know,
Speaker 3: twenty thirty years ago.
Speaker 2: So I think we're going to get to that place.
Speaker 3: However, there will be a transition, and I worry that
Speaker 3: during that transition, if we're not thoughtful and purposeful, too
Speaker 3: many Americans could be on the losing end of that transition.
Speaker 3: And so we need to get very serious right now
Speaker 3: and create new training initiatives like the one we're talking about.
Speaker 2: But that is not enough. Training is not enough.
Speaker 3: We need new incentives for companies to redeploy people. We
Speaker 3: need new you know, like a new safety net to
Speaker 3: help people transition from one job to the next. And
Speaker 3: so I think this calls for some pretty urgent action
Speaker 3: with the government, with employers, you know, with an all
Speaker 3: hands on deck moment, to create a people strategy to
Speaker 3: get us through this transition.
Speaker 1: You know it's a US race, it's a global race,
Speaker 1: and I think about what TO is doing. They made
Speaker 1: some steps today in terms of being all in, and
Speaker 1: they do things differently as we know in China, Secretary
Speaker 1: of Mondo. So I'm just curious if we don't get
Speaker 1: this right in terms of how we are approaching it
Speaker 1: and protecting our labor force, but at the same time
Speaker 1: making sure that we are making the right investments and
Speaker 1: moves when it comes to AI. When you've got China
Speaker 1: and the government in their deep pocket, will that put
Speaker 1: potentially the US at a disadvantage in many ways.
Speaker 2: Yes, it will.
Speaker 3: I've spent as much time as anyone thinking about how
Speaker 3: to protect America from China and how to compete with
Speaker 3: China technologically, economically, militarily, and we need to do both.
Speaker 2: I personally oppose, you know, over.
Speaker 3: Regulating AI or regulating the technology to a point that
Speaker 3: it would stifle innovation.
Speaker 2: Again, I want America to lead.
Speaker 3: However, I also would oppose putting our blinders on and
Speaker 3: letting AI out into the world without a plan for
Speaker 3: our workforce.
Speaker 2: Because truthfully, if we do that, and if we wound
Speaker 2: up with extremely high unemployment, we won't win the AI
Speaker 2: race with China. We won't.
Speaker 3: We will then have political unrest, economic unrest, deep recession,
Speaker 3: and frankly, a regulatory backlash. So I see no other
Speaker 3: alternative than to do both. To win, on the technology,
Speaker 3: to innovate, on the workforce models and the transition models
Speaker 3: and the support models.
Speaker 2: We can do it.
Speaker 3: America has consistently risen to the challenge in the face
Speaker 3: of these big challenges before, and if everybody works together,
Speaker 3: we can do it again.
Speaker 1: You talk about America leading when it comes to AI,
Speaker 1: that means we need really great leadership. Boston Globe Today
Speaker 1: reporting that you are no longer considering running for president
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty eight. What do you want to see
Speaker 1: from a presidential candidate and could you possibly reconsider your
Speaker 1: own ambissions.
Speaker 3: I'm smiling because no matter what interview I do, it
Speaker 3: inevitably gets to that question.
Speaker 1: People have said to me they want a leader like
Speaker 1: you when it comes.
Speaker 2: To that's very kind.
Speaker 3: That is, you know, years away, which in politics might
Speaker 3: as well be decades. Look, since I've been out of government,
Speaker 3: this is the issue I've been focused on. I am
Speaker 3: fortunate to have the credibility in the business community. I
Speaker 3: was the Secretary of Commerce when AI, when.
Speaker 2: Chat GBT was released. So I have, you.
Speaker 3: Know, great credibility with all the tech leaders. I believe
Speaker 3: them by partisanship. I work with Republicans and Democrats. So
Speaker 3: what I'm focused on is how do I work really
Speaker 3: at the state level where things can happen with governors
Speaker 3: of both parties. You know, with companies like Listen, it's
Speaker 3: in no company's interest to have a deep recession and
Speaker 3: fifteen percent unemployment.
Speaker 2: So any ceo, a CEO today has to do two things.
Speaker 3: Implement AI and get in the boat to figure out
Speaker 3: a people transition. And so that's what I'm devoting my
Speaker 3: time and attention to because I think it's what the
Speaker 3: country needs, and I think I'm well positioned to work
Speaker 3: on that issue.
Speaker 1: We know you have to run twenty seconds. Then what
Speaker 1: do you think we need though in a presidential candidate,
Speaker 1: considering the AI backdrop and all that's facing us real quickly.
Speaker 3: A serious person, a serious person who can work with anyone,
Speaker 3: will work with anyone, go anywhere, do whatever it takes
Speaker 3: to solve americans problems, rebuild a middle class, and revive
Speaker 3: the American dream, which is work hard, get ahead, including
Speaker 3: in business all.
Speaker 2: Right, Going to leave it there.
Speaker 1: The door's always open. We'd love to talk to you further,
Speaker 1: so come back whenever. Gina Raymondo fortieth US Secretary of Commerce,
Speaker 1: of course under President Biden, and the seventy fifth Governor
Speaker 1: of the state of Rhode Island