Congress grapples with fears over AI work amid calls for government hiring
FOX Business’ Darren Botelho reports as two Pennsylvania men plead guilty to traveling to Minnesota to defraud the State Housing Stabilization Services program from ‘Varney & Co.’
As artificial intelligence changes the way Americans do their jobs, there is a growing debate in Washington about what it means for the future of the workforce.
Congress has yet to pass sweeping AI legislation, but lawmakers are paying close attention as the technology advances at breakneck speed.
That urgency intensified this week after a viral X post from Matt Shumer, CEO of HyperWriteAI, which garnered more than 75 million views and more than 100,000 likes, warned of a major disruption to white-collar work.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., says these concerns should be discussed, but not panicked.
“I think it’s a healthy thing to talk about,” Obernolte told FOX Business. “The post says, basically, we should be afraid because AI will disrupt and there will be a lot of job losses – that’s something we know to be true.”
INSIDE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S AI ‘TECH FORCE’ BUILT TO MAKE REAL GOVERNMENT
House Research and Technology Committee Chairman Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., presided over a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2026, Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Obernolte, the only member of Congress with a graduate-level degree in artificial intelligence — he earned his master’s degree from UCLA and has studied the field for more than three decades — and founded a video game development company.
But he strongly disagrees with the premise that AI will permanently reduce the workforce.
“That’s something else [the post] he says people will get fewer jobs because of artificial intelligence.” History says that is simply not true.
Pointing to past technological revolutions, from the printing press to the Internet, Obernolte said innovation has always disrupted industries but ultimately created more jobs than it destroyed. He believes AI will follow a similar pattern.
Still, he acknowledged that migration is coming.
“People will be displaced from their places. We need to retrain workers in industries with that situation and equip them with the skills they need to succeed in other industries,” he said, adding that “we will need a safety net in society because there will be people who will fall through the cracks.”
A growing debate is heating up in Washington about what advances in AI mean for the future of the workforce. (Gregory DiSalvo/Getty Images)
Obernolte, who served as chairman of the House Artificial Intelligence Task Force, noted the panel’s 250-page report issued in December 2024 laid out recommendations for retraining staff and monitoring the law. But little of it has become the rule amid partisan gridlock and tight margins.
“It is important that we pass this year a framework for state control of AI that makes it clear where the state AI channels are, where the federal channels are, and where the two intersect,” he said.
“That’s something that’s going to be very important to make sure that everyone understands what the roadblocks are, and to make sure that the American people have some safeguards in place to protect themselves from malicious use of AI.”
PHILADELPHIA MEN GO TO MINNEAPOLIS FOR $3.5M ‘CRIMINAL TOURISM’ PROGRAM: DOJ
And concerns about such malicious use are growing.
A Deloitte study predicted productive AI could help drive US fraud losses up to $40 billion next year.
Just this week, the Department of Justice announced that two Pennsylvania men pleaded guilty to traveling to Minneapolis to defraud Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program, allegedly stealing about $3.5 million by using artificial intelligence to create false records — what authorities described as “fraud visits.”
“That’s the big downside of AI: how it increases the productivity of malicious actors,” warns Obernolte, saying the government has a clear role to play in responding.
But not everyone on Capitol Hill is optimistic.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., warned that the economic fallout could be worse if policymakers fail to prepare.
“I’m very concerned about AI and what it’s going to mean when people go out to lunch one day and come back and their jobs are gone, and that’s happening to millions and millions of people. Now is the time when we need to prepare,” Warren told FOX Business.
ELON MUSK CRASHES ANTHROPIC AI IN THE RULES OF ORGANIZATION
He went on to say that preparedness must include both guidelines on how to use AI and protection for families struggling with rising costs.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questions witnesses during a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee after the recent bank failure, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, May 18, 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Pressed on what the mass exodus means for the middle class, Warren – the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee – issued a stark warning.
“We lost over 100,000 manufacturing jobs last year,” he said. “If AI goes beyond that and literally wipes out the incomes of millions of families, we’re going to see a full-blown crisis right here in this country. If you know bad weather is threatening out there, now is the time to prepare.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Despite those warnings, Obernolte remains unchanged.
“AI will soon be – if not already – the most powerful tool for improving human productivity ever created,” he predicted, calling it a driver of economic growth and prosperity.
His advice to white-collar workers in the next five years?
“Get to know the AI,” he said. “Because if you’re used to using AI … then you’re going to be more valuable than the people around you.”
