April 23, 2026
Opinion: America’s Untapped Talent Can Help Shape the AI Economy
AI will reshape the future of work.
Written By Dr. Sheena Meade
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend the day at Sonoma Mountain, where a group of technologists, investors, academics, and policy leaders gathered to discuss the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on our economy.
During the conversation, one statistic stood out: within five years, more than 1 billion jobs could be replaced or transformed by AI.
That’s not just a projection—it’s a warning.
Because as AI accelerates changes in the labor market, the question isn’t just how we prepare for the future of work. It’s whether we can afford to leave millions of people out of it.
In the United States, nearly one in three people—about 70 to 100 million—have some kind of arrest or conviction record. And despite having the skills and experience to work, 94% of employers still use background checks to screen out applicants, and fewer than half of people with a record receive a callback when they apply for a job.
Human understanding, context, and moral clarity
People with lived experience in the justice system bring something no algorithm can replicate: human understanding, context, and moral clarity. These are people who have paid their debt after a mistake, and want to rebuild their lives. They’re people with skills, drive, and expertise. When this kind of talent is locked out of the future of work, we’re setting aside the very people that can help contribute to our communities, contribute to our economy, and support the sustainable, responsible implementation of AI in our future.
At a moment when businesses across industries are facing workforce shortages and when AI is rapidly reshaping which jobs exist and who can access them, this is not just a social issue. It’s an economic one. We are locking millions of people out of the workforce at the exact moment we need to expand it.
How can the ‘Clean Slate’ policy address the AI workforce shortage?
Clean Slate policies establish systems that automate the sealing of eligible records after someone has remained crime-free for a set period of time, expanding access to opportunity and helping ensure people are not defined by their past mistakes. These policies remove barriers to employment, making it easier for people to reenter the workforce, access education, and contribute to the economy.
Clean Slate has already helped create pathways for more than 18 million people to move forward with their lives and has gained bipartisan support across the country. Clean Slate laws that meet The Clean Slate Initiative’s policy criteria have been passed in 13 states, and Washington D.C., since 2018.
As industries evolve and new jobs emerge, we will need a larger, more inclusive workforce, not a smaller one. We will need policies that connect people to opportunity, not systems that screen them out before they even get a fair shot. If we don’t, we are not just limiting individual opportunity, we are weakening our workforce, our economy, and our ability to adapt to change.
AI will reshape the future of work. That much is certain. What we decide now is who gets to be part of it.
Clean Slate Initiative is a critical economic lever. By automating record sealing, the U.S. can reintegrate 100 million people into a workforce currently strained by AI transformation, ensuring that the future of work is both inclusive and economically resilient.
Clean Slate polices offers a practical, proven, and bipartisan way to ensure that more people can contribute to and benefit from the economy we are building.
And in a moment of rapid change, that’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
About: Dr. Sheena Meade is the CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI), where she leads a national bipartisan effort to pass policies that automate the sealing of eligible arrest and conviction records across the United States.
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