Leaders push for a ‘Manhattan Project’ and public-private solutions around AI and labor

In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady summarizes takeaways from a gathering hosted by Just Capital, where leaders discussed how to manage the AI transition.

The big leadership story: Quiet backlash is brewing against the Walton family, the heirs of the Walmart fortune who remade the retailer’s hometown.

The markets: Mixed going into Good Friday and the Easter holiday weekend.

Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. Most leaders I talk to acknowledge that AI could create a talent and job crisis, at least in the short term. The question is how to minimize the pain and maximize opportunities for prosperity. We’re seeing plenty of headlines about AI-imposed layoffs, a dearth of entry-level jobs, and a demographic and immigration crisis. Ford CEO Jim Farley talks about a shortage of electricians. (BlackRock could help.)

But there’s also excitement about reskilling, reimagining roles, and the resilience of the U.S. economy. How to manage the AI transition dominated discussions at a gathering to celebrate the “Best of American Business” this week hosted by Just Capital, a nonprofit founded in 2014 by hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II to catalyze private-sector leadership around major societal challenges. 

The conversations were conducted under the Chatham House rule, meaning I can share their takeaways without direct attribution and give you some data on how consumers are thinking about AI. 

“We need a Manhattan Project around labor.” That’s what one CEO told me is needed to manage the AI transition. Faced with the specter of Nazi Germany getting a nuclear bomb in WWII, the U.S. led a massive allied effort........

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