Six U.S. Regions Join Forces to Shield Career Pathways From AI Disruption

The inaugural cohort includes organizations from Birmingham, Syracuse, Indiana, Cleveland, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and San Diego. Partnering with the Brookings Institution and the nonprofit Opportunity@Work, these regions will spend the next six months mapping local career pathways to determine which roles remain stable and which are most vulnerable to shifting labor demands. The project targets workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), who represent 43% of the U.S. workforce in roles currently most exposed to AI.

Research indicates that nearly half of all transitions from entry-level positions to higher-wage careers are now at risk. Customer service roles, which employ millions, face significant disruption as 70% of their tasks are susceptible to automation. However, the program emphasizes that exposure does not equate to displacement. By coordinating strategies between employers and educators, the lab intends to help regions foster intentional AI deployment that augments human skills rather than eliminating them. The effort seeks to prevent a repeat of historical technological shifts that widened the economic gap between regions that successfully adapted and those that fell behind.