As AI Changes Work, Massachusetts Students Will Explore What It Means for People

WORCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 19, 2026--

Artificial intelligence is changing how work gets done, which skills are valued and how people navigate their careers. But understanding what those changes mean for people requires more than technology—and more than any single set of data.

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On Saturday, October 24, undergraduate and graduate students will gather at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for Work, Identity, and Opportunity in the Age of AI, the next Human Edge Studio convened by Strategic Growth & Innovation (SG+I).

Unlike a traditional hackathon focused primarily on building technical solutions, the Human Edge Studio is a structured, interdisciplinary learning experience designed to develop judgment, ethical reasoning, communication and applied capability alongside technical skills.

Working through a curated, real-world challenge, students will use an enterprise-grade Databricks environment bringing together Lightcast labor-market intelligence, O*NET occupational and skills information, federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), and Anthropic Economic Index data.

Their task is not to predict the distant future, but to examine how work, skills and opportunity are changing now—and consider what those changes mean for students entering the workforce, workers navigating career transitions, and the institutions supporting them.

The experience will extend beyond the Studio itself. Selected student teams will be invited to share their insights at a November 17 Human Edge Roundtable at the Massachusetts State House, bringing student perspectives into a broader cross-sector conversation about AI, work and economic opportunity.

“We hear a great deal about preparing people for an AI-enabled workforce, but I don't believe preparation can stop at learning how to use the technology,” said Shauna Conway, Founder of Strategic Growth & Innovation. “As AI becomes more capable, students will need opportunities to question what they're seeing, understand what the data doesn't tell them, work with people who see a problem differently and make judgments they can stand behind. That's why we built Human Edge this way. We want students practicing those capabilities on real questions now, and bringing their perspectives into the conversations shaping what comes next.”

Bringing Workforce Research and Human Perspective Together

The Studio will connect students with leaders across workforce research, higher education, industry and government. Lightcast and The Burning Glass Institute will contribute perspectives on changing jobs, skills and career pathways during the opening program.

“AI is changing more than jobs; it is changing how people develop the skills and experience needed to become good at their jobs. As tasks shift between people and technology, we need to think carefully about how workers will build expertise and how career pathways may change. Giving students the opportunity to wrestle with those questions now is an important part of preparing them for the workforce they are entering.”

— Steve Lynch, VP Partnerships, The Burning Glass Institute

A defining feature of the Studio is its interdisciplinary design. Students studying computer science, data science and engineering will work alongside peers from business, sociology, political science, philosophy, the humanities and other disciplines.

Rather than treating AI and workforce transformation as purely technical questions, the challenge asks teams to examine the evidence, recognize its limitations, consider how changes may affect people differently, and develop practical recommendations.

Faculty, industry practitioners and workforce experts will provide perspective and guidance as students work through the challenge. The experience is designed to strengthen capabilities relevant to an AI-shaped workforce while giving participating organizations an opportunity to engage with emerging talent as they approach complex, real-world questions.

“AI is not simply a technical question. It is changing how we work, communicate and make decisions, which means students from across disciplines have something important to contribute. Experiences like Human Edge give students the opportunity to bring technical knowledge into conversation with questions about people, ethics and society—and to recognize that understanding a complex problem requires learning from people who see it differently.”

— Yunus Telliel, Assistant Professor and Director of the Great Problems Seminar, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

From Applied Learning to a Broader Massachusetts Conversation

Worcester City Manager Eric D. Batista will welcome students during the opening program, and State Senator Michael O. Moore will bring a statewide public-sector perspective to the conversation.

For selected teams, the October 24 Studio will be the beginning rather than the end of the experience. Students invited to the November 17 Human Edge Roundtable at the Massachusetts State House will have an opportunity to bring their findings into dialogue with leaders considering how AI is affecting work, workforce readiness and economic opportunity.

“Massachusetts has extraordinary strengths in education, technology and talent, and our students should have a meaningful role in shaping how we respond to the changes AI is bringing to work and society. Preparing the next generation means more than giving them access to new technology; it means giving them opportunities to understand its implications, ask difficult questions and develop the judgment to use it responsibly. I look forward to hearing what these students learn and continuing that conversation with them at the State House.”

— State Senator Michael O. Moore

Building on a Growing Collaboration

The October Studio builds on previous Human Edge experiences that have brought students and cross-sector leaders together around applied questions involving AI, data, ethics and human impact.

The founding November 2025 experience brought together 100 students across six institutions, with 94% of participants agreeing that innovation is about people, not just technology.

Human Edge is supported by ongoing collaboration among academic partners who meet regularly to help shape interdisciplinary learning experiences and strengthen connections across institutions. Industry, workforce, technology and public-sector partners contribute expertise, data and real-world perspectives that help connect student learning with the questions facing organizations and communities.

Through its connected Studios and Roundtables, SG+I is developing a repeatable approach to responsible AI readiness—one that builds human capability through practice while creating opportunities for learning and dialogue to continue beyond individual experiences.

About Human Edge

Human Edge is a human-centered AI collaboration model that brings together universities, industry, and public sector partners to develop judgment, ethical reasoning, and applied capability through interdisciplinary, real-world experiences.

Human Edge is stewarded by Strategic Growth & Innovation, LLC (SG+I).

Event Information

Human Edge Studio: Work, Identity, and Opportunity in the Age of AI

Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Unity Hall, 4th Floor
Worcester, Massachusetts

The Studio brings together undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines and technical experience levels.

Media inquiries: Journalists interested in covering the Studio, observing student collaboration, or exploring interview opportunities with participating leaders and students are encouraged to contact SG+I.

Students from colleges and universities across New England collaborate during the November 2025 Hack for Human Impact experience at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Building on this interdisciplinary model, the October 24, 2026 Human Edge Studio, convened by Strategic Growth & Innovation (SG+I), will bring students together to examine how artificial intelligence is changing work, skills, and economic opportunity.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered and voted in U.S. elections.

The arrests are part of a Trump administration effort to root out noncitizen voting ahead of next month's midterm elections, even though data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.

They also reflect a further escalation in a simmering voter roll fight between the federal government and California that came into focus last week when the Justice Department sued the state and later warned that local election workers who knowingly process or tabulate ballots submitted by noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation and potential prosecution.

The Justice Department said the 28 people who were charged as part of a sweep dubbed Operation Protect the Vote are lawful permanent residents — but not U.S. citizens who are permitted to legally vote. They are charged with crimes including making false statements on a naturalization application and submitting fraudulent voter registrations.

“This causes real damage to real elections and real damage to American citizens," Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, said during a news conference in Los Angeles to announce the charges.

The federal government has made noncitizen voting a priority this year, demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states. While some states voluntarily handed over the information, the department sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain it — lawsuits that so far have been unsuccessful.

The Justice Department said Monday it has charged 113 noncitizens nationwide with illegal voting and registration offenses over the last several weeks, It earlier said it had charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.

The operation Monday involved the four U.S. attorneys' offices across California in what the Justice Department intended as a statewide show of force.

Among the dozens of people arrested was a 72-year-old Belize-born man who is accused of voting illegally in four elections.

Dozens of federal agents descended on the man's residential cul-de-sac in Commerce, a small city in Los Angeles County, to make the arrest. The man was put in handcuffs in his pajamas and taken into federal custody downtown. Others emerged from the house to watch and questioned the number of heavily armed officers present for the arrest, as well as the need for handcuffs.

The arrests were the latest in a flurry of activity that has unfolded in heavily Democratic California, which is not typically regarded as a key battleground state but does have a handful of competitive congressional races that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. Over 23 million people are registered statewide.

The administration last week sued California to prevent it from counting mail ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.

The complaint was filed after California officials were given, and did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election, although the secretary of state said the administration has provided no evidence to support that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters.

McCotter said the 20,000 number was likely to rise.

“That’s just the floor,” he said.

Requests for comment sent Monday to the secretary of state, state attorney general and governor's office were not immediately returned.

On Friday, the Justice Department followed up with a letter warning that state election officials who knowingly process ballots cast by noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation.

“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” warns the letter from McCotter.

It adds: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”

The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice.

In response to the letter, Logan said his office is focused on conducting a fair and secure election while noting that Election Day is a mere 18 days away.

“The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court,” he said.

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.

A Homeland Security Investigations task force officer stands near police tape marking a perimeter during a federal operation targeting suspected illegal voter registration in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeland Security Investigations task force officers arrest a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - Ballots are sorted the day after California's primary election at the LA County Ballot Processing Center, June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)