Welder turned lawmaker sees a ‘nuclear bomb for work’ — and a chance to help blue collar Americans

Rep. Riley Moore, a West Virginia Republican who worked as a welder on an Appalachian mining operation before entering Congress, says artificial intelligence could make blue-collar workers safer and more productive rather than putting them out of work. In an interview Monday with Fox News Digital, Moore said his family background is steeped in welding and blue-collar labor, and he described AI as holding "massive potential for positive advancements in manufacturing" while also warning it could become disruptive to work as it currently exists. He has carried that message to the Teamsters and other labor groups as Congress and businesses weigh how fast AI should be adopted in workplaces and what role government should play given economic and national security concerns.

Moore said he tends to focus on the upside of AI, arguing the technology should act as a "force-multiplier" for workers instead of replacing them. He said AI could extend how long someone can work in a physical trade, reduce injuries, lengthen the time a worker can stay on the job without getting hurt, and improve efficiency in ways that could lead to better-paying jobs domestically. Moore represents a state with deep ties to mining and manufacturing, and he framed AI's integration into blue-collar industries as an economic opportunity if it complements rather than displaces workers like the ones in his own family.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →