40th Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Talks AI and US Workforce

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Bloomberg Talks
Episode: 40th Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Talks AI and US Workforce
Date: June 9, 2026
Host: Bloomberg (with Emily, co-host)
Guest: Gina Raimondo, 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce & former Governor of Rhode Island

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Gina Raimondo on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the U.S. workforce. The discussion focuses on how America can remain competitive in AI globally while ensuring that workers are not left behind. Topics include AI-related job disruption, workforce training, public-private cooperation, competition with China, and what’s needed from future American leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Catch-22 Facing American Workers

(00:20 – 03:35)

• The host opens by referencing Meta’s (Facebook's parent company) new paid training and job placement program for AI-related roles. Raimondo's reaction to the initiative highlights a systemic issue:

  “They need training to get a new, higher paying job, but they can’t go without pay to attend a training course.”
  (Host paraphrasing, 00:37)

• Raimondo praises the approach of paid apprenticeships, noting from her experience as governor that unpaid training acts as a barrier:

  “People can’t afford to do a six week or six month training program and not get paid…they’re not going to finish that training program.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 02:46)

• She emphasizes the importance of corporate innovation in supporting workers and ensuring training leads to real job opportunities, not just credentials.

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2. America's Urgent Need for a “People Strategy”

(03:35 – 05:13)

• The conversation shifts to preparing for AI’s disruptive impact on jobs. Raimondo references her New York Times essay about the need for urgent action:

  “Every technology has created disruption and job loss, but over time, new jobs, new industries…many millions of jobs in our economy today did not exist even 20, 30 years ago.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 04:12)

• She warns about the transition period and potential for many Americans to lose out if not properly supported.

• Suggests a “people strategy” is needed, with new:

  • Training initiatives (but “training is not enough”)
  • Incentives for companies to redeploy workers
  • A “new safety net” for smoother job transitions

• Calls for “all hands on deck” — government, businesses, and educators need to act together.

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3. Competition with China: Balancing Innovation and Workforce Security

(05:13 – 07:07)

• Host asks about China’s rapid AI investments and potential U.S. disadvantages.

• Raimondo argues for a balanced approach, outright rejecting two extremes:

  “I personally oppose over regulating AI…that would stifle innovation. …I also would oppose …letting AI out into the world without a plan for our workforce.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 05:55)

• She cautions that neglecting the workforce could backfire economically and politically:

  “If we wound up with extremely high unemployment, we won’t win the AI race with China. We won’t. We will then have political unrest, economic unrest, deep recession, and frankly, a regulatory backlash.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 06:17)

• Raimondo remains optimistic:

  “America has consistently risen to the challenge…and if everybody works together, we can do it again.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 06:47)

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4. The Leadership America Needs (and Raimondo’s Own Political Future)

(07:07 – 08:47)

• Host references a Boston Globe report that Raimondo is not running for president in 2028 and asks what leadership is needed for the AI era.

• Raimondo notes her bipartisan experience and credibility with both business and tech, focusing now on state-level solutions in partnership with governors and companies:

  “Any CEO…today has to do two things: implement AI and get in the boat to figure out a people transition.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 08:19)

• On presidential qualities:

  “A serious person who can work with anyone, will work with anyone, go anywhere, do whatever it takes to solve Americans problems, rebuild the middle class and revive the American dream, which is work hard, get ahead, including in business.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 08:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI, Training, and Equity

  “We’re not going to win the global AI race if we have great technology and sky high unemployment.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 02:08)

• On the Need for Urgency

  “This calls for some pretty urgent action...it’s an all hands on deck moment to create a people strategy to get us through this transition.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 05:02)

• On Overregulation vs. Inaction

  “I personally oppose overregulating AI…However, I also would oppose …letting AI out into the world without a plan for our workforce.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 05:55)

• On U.S. Resilience

  “America has consistently risen to the challenge in the face of these big challenges before…and if everybody works together, we can do it again.”
  (Gina Raimondo, 06:47)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:20 – Intro to the AI and workforce topic, referencing Meta’s jobs program
• 01:54 – Raimondo’s perspective on paid training initiatives
• 03:35 – Host asks about the economic/labor disruption of AI; Raimondo calls for urgent action
• 05:13 – Comparing US and China’s strategies, balancing innovation and workforce protections
• 07:07 – Discussion about future leadership and requirements for the presidency in this era
• 08:47 – Final thoughts on presidential qualities and priorities

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a comprehensive view of how AI is reshaping the American workforce and what strategies are necessary to ensure U.S. leadership on the global stage. Raimondo argues for bold, innovative public and private sector collaboration, insists on practical support for workers, and underscores the need for focused, pragmatic leadership as America navigates an AI-driven future.

Transcript

[Indiana University Announcer]

Indiana University strengthens tomorrow's workforce with practical, real world experience. IU grads make a difference in your community, serving as teachers, nurses and engineers who rise to tomorrow's challenges and meet them. Learn more at iu.edu impact,

[Podcast Host]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio News so Google, keep in mind, was one of Anthropic's earliest investors repeatedly buying equity in the AI fir. And as Emily mentioned, it's increasingly now backstopping the financing that underpins those data centers for the startup. So underscoring that complex business ties among the handful of largest tech companies pouring money into AI folks, it's AI's world and we're just revolving around it. And that brings us to our next guest. Let's get to it with former U.S. secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. She served as the 40th U.S. secretary of Commerce and 75th governor of the state of Rhode Island. She joins us from Washington, D.C. secretary Raimondo, so nice to have you here with Emily and myself. I want to get right to it because. Because I feel like every conversation we talk about artificial intelligence, the build out, the spend, but increasingly about the impact on the labor force globally and here in the United States. You recently responded to a comment on X by Meta Platform's Vice chairman, Dina Powell. She was announcing Meta's launch of a program to provide paid training, certification and a job for Americans of all backgrounds to be part of building American leadership in the world. Your response? You say many Americans face a catch 22. They need training to get a new higher paying job, but they can't go without pay to attend a training course. And that this initiative aims to solve this problem with paid apprenticeships and credentials that lead to actual available goods. Good jobs, I should say. When it comes to AI and the impact on jobs, how do you see it? And is Metta on the right track?

[Gina Raimondo]

Yeah. Well, first of all, good afternoon and thank you for having me. I. I am an AI forward person. I think that the US does and needs to continue to lead in this global AI competition. And that means of course, being ahead with the technology, but it also means having a strategy for people, right? I mean, we're not going to win the global AI race if we have great technology and sky high unemployment. And so I think it's time for the country to get very serious about changing the way we support people when they change jobs and the way we train people. And the thing that I like about because we have to bring all Americans along, this cannot just be AI for the big tech and not Bring everyone along. And so with this announcement, as I understand, you know, what Met is doing here, the thing I really liked about it was they're paying people while they do the training. And I know from when I was governor, I was a real a leader in a lot of these apprenticeship and training programs. People can't afford to do a six week or six month training program and not get paid right. They're not going to finish that training program. So to the extent I heard about this, like you said, I read about it yesterday, I think it's first, I think it's good that companies in America are stepping up to say, let's get innovative and try to support workers. But I think it's important to say we're going to pay you while you get trained, and if you graduate and if you get your credential, there will be a job at the end of that training.

[Podcast Co-host]

Secretary, you wrote a guest essay for the New York Times earlier this year. It was entitled America Cannot Withstand the Economic Shock that's Coming. What do you think the country, the Trump administration, and lawmakers from both parties really need to do to address this very much feared economic and labor disruption that AI is expected to unleash?

[Gina Raimondo]

We have to prepare for it. I think it is a transition. I do believe AI will create new jobs. Every technology has created disruption and job loss, but over time, new jobs, new industries, many, many, many, many millions of jobs in our economy today did not exist even 20, 30 years ago. So I think we're going to get to that place. However, there will be a transition. And I worry that during that transition, if we're not thoughtful and purposeful, too many Americans could be on the losing end of that transition. And so we need to get very serious right now and create new training initiatives like the one we're talking about. But that is not enough. Training is not enough. We need new incentives for companies to redeploy people. We need new, you know, like a new safety net to help people transition from one job to the next. And so I think this calls for some pretty urgent action with the government, with employers. You know, it's an all hands on deck moment to create a people strategy to get us through this transition.

[Podcast Host]

You know, it's a US Race, it's a global race. And I think about what China's doing, they made some steps today in terms of being all in, and they do things differently, as we know in China. Secretary Raimondo so I'm just curious, you know, if we don't get this right in terms of how we are approaching it and protecting our labor force, but at the same time, making sure that we are making the right investments and moves when it comes to AI. When you've got China and the government in their deep pocket, will that put potentially the US at a disadvantage? In many ways, yes, it will.

[Gina Raimondo]

I've spent as much time as anyone thinking about how to protect America from China and how to compete with China technologically, economically, militarily, and we need to do both. I personally oppose over regulating AI or regulating the technology to a point that it would stifle innovation. Again, I want America to lead. However, I also would oppose putting our blinders on and letting AI out into the world without a plan for our workforce, because truthfully, if we do that, and if we wound up with extremely high unemployment, we won't win the AI race with China. We won't. We will then have political unrest, economic unrest, deep recession, and frankly, a regulatory backlash. So I see no other alternative than to do both. To win on the technology, to innovate on the workforce models and the transition models and the support models. We can do it. America has consistently risen to the challenge in the face of these big challenges before, and if everybody works together, we can do it again.

[Podcast Host]

You talk about America leading when it comes to AI. That means we need really great leadership. Boston Globe today reporting that you are no longer considering running for president in 2028. What do you want to see from a presidential candidate? And could you possibly reconsider your own ambitions?

[Gina Raimondo]

I'm smiling because no matter what interview I do, it inevitably gets to that question.

[Podcast Host]

People have said to me, they want a leader like you.

[Gina Raimondo]

When it comes to the difference, that's very kind. That is, you know, years away, which in politics might as well be decades. Look, since I've been out of government, this is the issue I've been focused on. I'm. I am fortunate to have the credibility in the business community. I was the Secretary of Commerce when AI, when ChatGPT was released. So I have, you know, great credibility with all the tech leaders. I. I believe in bipartisanship. I work with Republicans and Democrats. So what I'm focused on is how do I work really at the state level where things can happen with governors of both parties, you know, with companies like, listen, it's in no company's interest to have a deep recession and 15% unemployment. So any CEO, a CEO today has to do two things. Implement AI and get in the boat to figure out a people transition. And so that's what I'M devoting my time and attention to because I think it's what the country needs and I think I'm well positioned to work on that issue.

[Podcast Host]

We know you have to run 20 seconds then. What do you think we need, though, in a presidential candidate, considering the AI backdrop and all that's facing us real quickly?

[Gina Raimondo]

A serious person. A serious person who can work with anyone, will work with anyone, go anywhere, do whatever it takes to solve Americans problems, rebuild the middle class and revive the American dream, which is work hard, get ahead, including in business. All right.

[Podcast Host]

Gonna leave it there. The door is always open. We'd love to talk to you further, so come back whenever. Gina Raimondo, 40th US Secretary of Commerce, of course, under President Biden and the 75th governor of the state of Rhode Island.

[Indiana University Announcer]

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