Adam Goldfarb: Harnessing AI for Economic Opportunity

Adam Goldfarb, Founding Executive Director of Opportunity AI, a collaborative of more than 100 foundations focused on AI's impact on jobs and economic mobility, discusses how philanthropy and the social sector can work together to ensure AI expands rather than narrows economic opportunity. Drawing on his experience leading Schmidt Futures' workforce technology initiative and co-founding Opportunity AI, Adam maps the emerging landscape of economic opportunity funders into four distinct camps: those focused on worker voice and governance, those preparing transition systems for potential disruption, those building AI-powered tools for the social sector, and those watching the growing entry of wealth from the AI industry itself. The conversation explores the most promising categories of AI use cases in workforce development, from career navigation tools and AI-powered coaching to benefits access and operational efficiency for nonprofits, and why philanthropy needs real-time labor market observability to detect how AI is reshaping jobs and skills before it's too late to respond. Adam also makes the case that agility, for workers, training organizations, and funders alike, may be the defining touchstone of this era, and offers a vision for how the sector can move faster and more experimentally without losing sight of the learners it exists to serve.

Transcript

Julian Alssid: Welcome to the Work Forces podcast. I'm Julian Alssid.

Kaitlin LeMoine: And I'm Kaitlin LeMoine, and we speak with innovators who are shaping the future of work and learning.

Julian Alssid: Together, we unpack the complex elements of workforce and career preparation, and offer practical solutions that can be scaled and sustained.

Kaitlin LeMoine: This podcast is an outgrowth of our Work Forces consulting practice. Through weekly discussions, we seek to share the trends and themes we see in our work and amplify impactful efforts happening in higher education, industry, and workforce development all across the country. We are grateful to Lumina Foundation for its past support during the initial development and launch of this podcast, and invite future sponsors of this effort. Please check out our Work Forces podcast website to learn more. And so, with that, let's dive in.

Julian Alssid: As we continue Season 7, there is one topic that has come to dominate virtually every conversation we have in our consulting work, on this podcast, and frankly, everywhere we turn: artificial intelligence. The central question for our field isn't whether AI will change the nature of work and learning; it will. The question is how can we harness these tools in ways that genuinely expand economic opportunity for the people who need it most.

Kaitlin LeMoine: And that question puts a real responsibility on the organizations and individuals who are in a position to shape how this moment unfolds. Funders, policymakers, and practitioners all have a role to play, and getting it right requires deliberate strategy and coordination, a willingness to move faster than maybe ever before, and a clear-eyed view of both the challenges and opportunities that come with AI tools as they emerge.

Julian Alssid: Which brings us to our guest today. Adam Goldfarb is the founding executive director of Opportunity AI, a collaborative of more than 100 foundations focused on AI's impact on jobs and economic mobility. Before starting Opportunity AI, Adam launched and led Eric and Wendy Schmidt's grant-making program devoted to innovation and career training. Earlier in his career, Adam served as chief of staff of a state education agency, co-founded a charter high school, coordinated policy advocacy for the city of Newark, New Jersey, and led strategy for national nonprofits. Adam, welcome to Work Forces. We are so glad to have you with us.

Adam Goldfarb: Thank you. It's amazing to be here. You know, all the longtime listener, first time caller, notes apply here. Thanks. So thank you.

Kaitlin LeMoine: