US Department of Labor launches 'Make America AI-Ready' initiative

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20260324

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Free AI literacy course aims to equip Americans with foundational AI skills
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the launch of “Make America AI-Ready,” a free artificial intelligence literacy course that will help American workers learn the basics of AI simply by texting “READY” to 20202.

The initiative advances the Trump Administration’s commitment to equip American workers with foundational AI skills needed to succeed in an AI-driven economy, as outlined in America’s Talent Strategy and the White House’s AI Action Plan.

The course is uniquely designed to deliver bite-sized learning content and daily challenges to users entirely over text message. Users can complete the course in seven days by engaging for just 10 minutes a day. The text message-based design is intended to be as accessible as possible to all Americans, including those without a laptop or with limited access to the internet.

The initiative was developed through a public-private partnership between the Labor Department and education technology company Arist, a participant in the White House’s Pledge to America’s Youth to help advance AI education across the country.

“The ‘Make America AI-Ready’ initiative is designed to ensure every American worker has the chance to learn foundational skills so they can benefit from the opportunities that the AI economy presents,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Labor remains committed to putting American workers first by providing them with the skills they need to support themselves and their families.”

“This initiative will help demystify AI for American workers,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “We are seeing AI create new jobs, new levels of productivity, and new forms of entrepreneurship, and we want to make sure all Americans have the skills to share in that prosperity.”

The course engages participants with daily content that directly aligns with the five foundational areas outlined in the Labor Department’s recently-released AI Literacy Framework.

These content areas are:

Understand AI Principles: Understanding AI’s core concepts, capabilities, and limitations, creating the foundation for effective use.
Explore AI Uses: Directly exploring different AI tools and relevant use cases, and how AI can complement human expertise.
Direct AI Effectively: Understanding how to provide the right context to AI and how to create clear prompts that produce effective outputs.
Evaluate AI Outposts: Assessing AI-generated results for accuracy, and relevance.
Use AI Responsibly: Using AI in ethical and secure ways, protecting critical information, and ensuring accountability for outcomes.
The Labor Department designed the course to be the starting point for American workers in their AI journey, and the course concludes by offering participants additional resources to learn more advanced AI skills or pursue AI-related careers, based on their unique goals or interests.

Phone numbers used to enroll in Make America AI-Ready are used solely for delivering the course and will never be shared with or sold to third parties for marketing or promotional purposes.

Learn more about the Make America AI-Ready initiative at dol.gov/ai-ready.

Agency Office of the Secretary
Date March 24, 2026
Release Number 26-565-NAT
Media Contact: Courtney Parella
Phone Number (202) 693-4676
Email parella.courtney.e@dol.gov