AI could take your job. Here's how Congress wants to help workers.

Sen. Ron Wyden on Friday introduced a bill that would double unemployment benefits to 52 weeks if the jobless rate jumps. As artificial intelligence capabilities improve, many Americans are worried that the technology could one day put them out of work — a possibility more lawmakers in Washington are preparing for. Members of Congress have recently introduced a series of bills to safeguard the nation's workforce against potential AI-related disruptions. Their proposals range in scope, with many geared toward creating training programs to support workers if their roles are eliminated. On Friday, Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, joined the push to protect workers with "The Stability and Opportunity for Workers Act," a bill that would expand unemployment benefits during "high unemployment periods." For instance, the bill would extend unemployment benefits for 52 weeks if the unemployment rate reaches 8.5%, double the current standard of up to 26 weeks.

The bill would also assist workers displaced by AI disruption by providing them with education and retraining for higher-paying jobs, Wyden's office said in a statement. The raft of proposals comes amid warnings about the large-scale displacements AI could cause — some of them from the leaders of AI labs themselves. Last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs