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Data on Draft: Brewing an AI-Ready Workforce in Michigan
AI is here. Michigan is not ready. Let’s help change that.
Join Democracy Brewing Community at Silver Harbor Brewing for a candid, action-focused conversation about how AI is already changing work, hiring, management, and the future of Michigan’s workforce.
This is an issues conversation, not a candidate event — built for community members who want a serious, accessible, real-world discussion about what is happening now and what should happen next.
Why this event matters
AI is no longer abstract. Companies are already cutting jobs, narrowing hiring, and redesigning work around automation and AI tools.
Michigan’s own AI and the Workforce Plan says that as many as 2.8 million Michigan jobs could be reshaped in the next 5 to 10 years, and that 75% of manufacturing roles will need upskilling.
But while the state’s plan is substantive and serious, it is still a readiness plan, not a worker-protection plan. It does not stop employers from using AI to cut headcount, require redeployment before layoffs, or tie state AI-adoption dollars to keeping workers on payroll.
That gap is exactly the kind of issue Democracy Brewing exists to drag into the open and confront.
What to expect
• A plain-language breakdown of the three broad types of AI — narrow, general, and super — and what Michigan’s state plan does and does not do for workers
• A panel of local business leaders from small, mid-size, and large organizations talking honestly about how AI is already showing up inside their workplaces
• An open community conversation where everyone has the chance to ask questions and contribute
• A written public work product capturing what panelists and community members say, which will be sent to Michigan state representatives, the Governor’s office, and members of Congress so our community’s voice lands in Lansing and Washington
Who should come
• Workers wondering how AI may affect their job or industry
• Business owners and managers trying to understand what AI means for operations, staffing, and competitiveness
• Students and young professionals deciding what skills to build now
• Community members who want a practical and honest conversation about work, technology, and power
What this is not
This is not a hype session.
This is not a doom session.
This is not a technical lecture.
It is a grounded conversation about jobs, technology, power, and the future of work in Michigan.
Come hear what local leaders are seeing inside their organizations, bring your own questions, and help shape a public response rooted in the real experience of working people.
Show up. Be heard. Change Things.