Gina Raimondo says the US can't beat China with destabilizing unemployment. Here's what the AI job displacement data shows, and what it means for AI teams.
Key takeaways
- At POLITICO's Decoded Summit on September 16, 2026, Gina Raimondo argued the US can't beat China while facing "destabilizing unemployment," and Republican Eric Holcomb agreed.
- The two lead RAISE US, a nonprofit launched in June 2026 with more than $500 million secured toward a $1 billion goal to retrain workers for an AI economy.
- The data doesn't show economy-wide AI job losses yet, but Stanford researchers find a 19% employment gap for young workers in highly AI-exposed jobs.
- Losses cluster where AI substitutes for people's work; where AI complements workers, employment is flat or rising.
- For teams deploying AI, that finding is a design choice: build systems that complement staff, and protect the entry-level work that trains your next generation.
📖 Read the full guide on Van Data Team → AI Job Displacement: Why Raimondo Ties It to the China Race
