Amanda Ballantyne, a Data & Society advisor, directs the AFL-CIO Technology Institute and the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute, and serves as a strategic advisor to AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. She works closely with unions and worker advocates to educate and engage a broad set of public and private stakeholders on artificial intelligence and related technologies impacting working people’s rights, job security, job quality, and safety.

Through her advocacy, Ballantyne has testified before Congress, participated in multiple Senate AI Insight forums on behalf of the AFL-CIO and AFL-CIO Technology Institute, and worked closely with the White House and federal agencies to center workers within technology regulation, innovation, and workforce development. She is an advisor to the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University, and a member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), a national committee formed by the US Department of Commerce to advise the president and the National AI Initiative Office on topics related to AI.

Ballantyne has nearly 20 years of organizing, policy, and legal experience in unions and nongovernmental organizations. She graduated from Smith College and earned her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.