State Leaders Need to Prepare Immediately for an AI Storm

(SeaPRwire) –   When a tornado is imminent or a severe blizzard is predicted, a governor’s responsibilities are clear. You activate the emergency operations center. You strategically deploy resources. You coordinate efforts with local first responders. You communicate transparently with the public. You do not question the reality of the storm, nor do you abandon citizens to cope alone. When governors foresee an emergency, preparation is essential.

The impending AI-driven transformation of the workforce represents an approaching storm—man-made, yet equally impactful. This time, the repercussions will not be measured by downed power lines or unplowed roads. Instead, they will manifest as widespread layoffs, diminished tax revenues, and Americans of all ages struggling to find employment. And just as with blizzards and tornadoes, the states that are most prepared will emerge the strongest.

Significant changes are required to navigate this forthcoming disruption: our tax policies, our social safety nets, and our economic development strategies. However, nothing is more critical than our post-secondary education system. Universities, community colleges, and workforce training programs are the avenues through which American workers acquire the necessary skills for gainful employment. In an AI economy, this system functions as our emergency preparedness infrastructure. Should it fail, everything else will follow. This is where we must begin, with state leaders taking the initiative.

After all, workforce systems operate at the state level. Education is a state responsibility. Governors, legislative leaders, and superintendents of public institutions possess the authority to convene employers, college presidents, and workforce boards to demand alignment. They control the licensing regulations, the funding mechanisms, and the tax incentives that genuinely influence behavior. Furthermore, they can act within a single legislative session, while partisan gridlock may stall Washington for another decade. If this constitutes an emergency—and it does—states are the primary responders.

Let’s begin with a stark assessment. Annually, the federal government allocates approximately $112 billion to higher education, state and local governments contribute another $150 billion, and American households spend an additional $210 billion out of their own pockets. Concurrently, student debt has surged to $1.7 trillion, and a study by the Burning Glass Institute and Strada Education Foundation revealed that half of recent college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require their degree.

The outcome: a diminishing number of Americans believe a college degree is worth its expense.

If our current system was inadequate before the advent of AI, it poses a profound vulnerability in an AI-infused economy.

The encouraging news is that we already possess considerable knowledge about effective solutions. There is robust evidence supporting approaches such as employer-informed curriculum design, apprenticeships, and short-cycle, stackable credentials. Research from the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that apprenticeships boost earnings by nearly 50%. A RAND study found that over 70% of students who accumulated credentials over time while working achieved a middle-income wage within six years.

If AI impacts the labor market as experts anticipate, millions of American workers will need new skills within this decade. However, pilot programs will not suffice. They are the policy equivalent of stacking sandbags while a hurricane rages along the coast.

So, how do we address this immediate crisis comprehensively?

Firstly, we must forge strong connections between employers and educators. Employers are the first to observe which tasks AI is automating within their own businesses. They have real-time insight into which roles are disappearing, evolving, and emerging. This intelligence should directly inform the curricula of community colleges and universities, rather than being filtered through infrequent, ceremonial advisory boards.

Secondly, we must fund outcomes, not merely enrollment. For decades, many state funding formulas for higher education have compensated schools for filling seats without guaranteeing results. This practice must cease. Institutions that successfully graduate students into stable, AI-resilient jobs should be rewarded. Programs that prepare students for declining occupations must adapt.

These are not politically divisive concepts. Governors from both Republican and Democratic parties have implemented them. In 2023, Texas enacted legislation that linked 95% of state community college funding to measurable outcomes—such as credentials earned, transfers completed, and placements in high-demand fields. After one year, Texas community colleges demonstrating results received an additional $43 million in funding. In Colorado, the Opportunity Now program, launched three years ago, has allocated $89.5 million in grants to employer-education partnerships and has already placed over 8,000 workers in well-paying jobs.

I must acknowledge a personal perspective here. As governor of Indiana, I initiated a program that utilized industry input to identify high-demand sectors, subsequently assisting workers in training for jobs in those fields. Since its launch in 2017, the program has supported over 33,000 Hoosiers through tuition-free Workforce Ready Grants.

That foundation is now being significantly bolstered by a remarkable development. In late 2025, the Lilly Endowment committed up to $500 million to its Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Initiative—representing the largest private philanthropic investment in AI-readiness within American higher education. Thirty-five Indiana institutions have already secured planning grants to assess employer needs, revise curricula, and develop AI-native programs.

This is the kind of strategic shift and momentum every state now requires. This is what AI preparedness entails: programs that leverage employer insights, investment on an unprecedented scale, and state and university leaders working in unison.

Here is what I would advise my fellow governors: declare AI workforce preparedness a state priority with the same gravity as disaster preparedness. Establish a council with employer co-chairs. Revamp your higher education funding formula to prioritize outcomes. Mandate active employer input on curriculum as a condition for state funding. Utilize state grants, tax incentives, and matching funds to encourage employers to invest. Advocate for these measures to both legislative bodies and philanthropic organizations.

I spent eight years as governor observing workers, employers, and schools struggling to keep pace with accelerating technology. And I come from a region of the country that has witnessed the consequences when economic change outpaces public institutions. The Midwest was not alone when policies made manufacturing offshoring irresistible, displacing nearly three million workers, while the nation did far too little to help them transition to new livelihoods. The lesson for states was clear: those that invested in workforce readiness were better positioned to attract new industries, while those that did not are still striving to catch up. The impending disruption could affect a much larger population. This time, the disparity between the prepared and the unprepared will be even greater.

This is precisely why state leaders must prepare now—before the storm fully descends.