A month ago, on Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher spoke with Mike Rowe about the enormous demand for qualified tradespeople. It was serendipitous that the conversation came as white-collar workers and lawmakers are confronting a different question: What happens to American workers as artificial intelligence transforms the economy?

The debate about the future of blue-collar and white-collar work in the age of AI is interesting because it is one area with cross-partisan overlap. In June, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed public ownership of major AI companies through an AI sovereign wealth fund. President Donald Trump has floated a considerably different version of the idea: giving the people an ownership interest in leading AI companies.