On Aug. 27, 2025, Massachusetts business and technology leaders discussed statewide strategies to strengthen competitive advantages and address skills gaps as artificial intelligence reshapes work. A report from the Massachusetts High Technology Council and the Boston Consulting Group highlighted that more than half of the individual skills tied to the top 15 job types could face moderate-to-high disruption from artificial intelligence. The study identifies structured, repetitive roles such as office clerks and accountants as most at risk, estimating 40 to 50 percent of core skills could see high-to-complete disruption as generative artificial intelligence automates scheduling, recordkeeping, invoicing and compliance checks. The report also describes how health care professionals, educators and financial analysts are adopting artificial intelligence for clinical risk flagging, personalized instruction analytics and fraud detection, respectively.
The report urges the commonwealth to invest across the talent pipeline from K-12 through mid-career reskilling, build shared artificial intelligence infrastructure and strategic partnerships, pursue federal artificial intelligence funding, and deploy grants, tax incentives and other business tools. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued guidance on responsible use of artificial intelligence in schools ahead of the school year. The 2024 economic development law allocated an amount for the Massachusetts AI Hub that is not stated in the article; since launching, the hub has trained teachers, taught high school students Python, awarded grants in sectors including health care and manufacturing, and organized workforce development programs, according to director Sabrina Mansur.
Privacy and labor concerns figured prominently. Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier pressed industry and the AI hub on commonsense privacy protections for workers and students, and Massachusetts AFL-CIO backed legislative proposals H 77 and S 35, which are awaiting a hearing and would restrict employee data surveillance, give employees the right to refuse artificial intelligence system directives without fear of retaliation, and prevent employers from solely relying on automated systems for employment decisions. Chris Anderson of the Massachusetts High Technology Council said policies are being developed, and MITRE is building a forecasting tool to model emerging artificial intelligence skill needs. Labor tensions over automation surfaced in contract talks with Aramark at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall, where union members protested automated concession machines that they say could replace workers.
