State Leaders Must Prepare Now for an AI Storm |
When a tornado puts you on its path or a severe blizzard is forecasted, a governor’s job is straightforward. You activate the emergency operations center. You pre-position resources. You coordinate with local responders. You level with the public. You don’t debate whether the storm is real, and you don’t leave people to fend for themselves. When governors see an emergency on the horizon, they must prepare.
The coming AI-driven workforce shock is an approaching storm—manmade, but no less impactful. This time, the aftereffects won’t be measured in downed power lines or unplowed roads. It will be measured in lay-offs, hollowed-out tax bases, and Americans—young and old—searching for work. And just like with blizzards and tornadoes, the states that prepare the most will come through the strongest.
A lot must change to manage through this coming shock: our tax codes, our social safety nets, our economic development strategies. But nothing matters more than our post-secondary education system. Universities, community colleges, and workforce training programs are where American workers gain the skills needed to earn a living. In an AI economy, that system is our emergency preparedness system. If it fails, everything else fails with it. This is where we must start—and state leaders should lead.
After all, workforce systems are run at the state level. Education is a state function. Governors, legislative leaders, and Superintendents of public institutions have the convening power to put employers, college presidents, and workforce boards in the same room and demand alignment. They control the licensing rules, the funding formulas, and the tax incentives that actually change behavior. And they can act in a single legislative........