The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework, which serves as a guide for employers to train workers in artificial intelligence usage. The framework highlights the DOL’s expectations regarding employer approaches to AI training and provides actionable guidance for organizations seeking to enhance their workforce capabilities. For employers and HR professionals, the guidance offers practical insight into how regulators expect organizations to approach workforce AI adoption, training, and governance.
Overview of the DOL’s AI Literacy Framework
The framework is designed as a flexible resource to guide the development of AI education and training initiatives. The framework defines AI literacy as a foundational set of competencies that enables individuals to use and evaluate AI tools responsibly, with particular emphasis on generative AI technologies that are rapidly being integrated into daily work tasks. Importantly, the DOL frames AI literacy as a baseline workforce capability, not a specialized technical skill.
The Five Core AI Literacy Competencies
The framework identifies five foundational skill areas that employers should consider when assessing workforce readiness:
1. Understand AI Principles: Employees should be able to understand what AI is, how it works, and its limitations, including concepts such as probabilistic outputs, training data, and accuracy risks.
2. Explore AI Uses: Employees should be able to understand real-world applications of AI in workplace settings, from drafting documents and analyzing data to decision-support tools and automation.
3. Direct AI Effectively: The framework highlights that effective use of AI depends heavily on input quality. Employees should learn prompt-writing techniques, how to share relevant information, and refinement requests to make sure they obtain quality responses.
4. Evaluate AI Outputs: Employees should be able to critically review AI-generated content for accuracy, completeness, logic, and relevance rather than relying on outputs at face value.
5. Use AI Responsibly: Responsible use includes safeguarding confidential data, complying with employer policies, avoiding misuse, and recognizing that humans remain accountable for AI-assisted work.
The Seven Delivery Principles of AI Literacy
The DOL emphasizes that how AI training is delivered is just as important as what is taught. The framework outlines seven principles that employers should incorporate when developing AI learning initiatives:
1. Enable Experiential Learning: Hands-on practice with real workplace tasks produces stronger competency than theoretical instruction alone.
2. Embed Learning in Context: Training should be tailored to job roles, industries, and company workflows.
3. Build Complementary Human Skills: AI should be taught as a tool that enhances — not replaces — judgment, creativity, and communication.
4. Address Prerequisites for AI Literacy: Programs should account for varying digital literacy levels and technology access to ensure that all workers can engage in the training.
5. Create Pathways for Continued Learning: Employers should create structured progression from foundational literacy to more advanced skill development.
6. Prepare Enabling Roles: Managers, trainers, and HR professionals should receive targeted instruction so they can support adoption and compliance.
7. Design for Agility: Training content must be adaptable as AI tools and capabilities evolve.
Employer Takeaways
The framework confirms that AI literacy is rapidly becoming a core workplace competency comparable to digital literacy several decades ago. Employers that proactively develop structured AI training programs now will be better positioned to improve productivity, mitigate risk, and demonstrate good-faith compliance with evolving regulatory expectations.
Although the framework does not impose legal requirements, it reflects the federal government’s emerging expectations regarding workforce AI readiness. Employers should view the framework as both a compliance signal and a strategic opportunity. Employers should conduct internal assessments of how AI is currently used across roles and departments. They should then identify job-specific AI skill needs and define acceptable-use policies. Think about implementing structured training that aligns with the framework’s competency areas. Employers should ensure that HR professionals and management personnel are equipped to guide responsible AI adoption, and document training efforts as part of broader risk-management and governance practices.
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