Statewide AI Strategic Roadmap The recommendations laid out in this Strategic AI Roadmap represent a commitment that no resident should be left behind or unprotected as artificial intelligence reshapes our world. Our goal is to make North Carolina a state where innovation and trust are not in tension and solutions are developed responsibly, deployed thoughtfully, and governed transparently. Submitter's Note: This StratML rendition was compiled from the source and rendered in StratML format by Claude.ai. It has been lightly edited in the form at https://stratml.us/forms/Claude/Part1.html State of North Carolina AI Leadership Council NCAILC 91f21a06-c423-4e3f-bff3-5398df9d7c91 State Government Officials and staff of North Carolina state government agencies and the Governor's Office who serve on or support the Council. Nate Denny Secretary, N.C. Department of Information Technology; Co-Chair, AI Leadership Council Lee Lilley Secretary, N.C. Department of Commerce; Co-Chair, AI Leadership Council Kunal Choksi Senior Deputy Attorney General, Consumer Protection Director, N.C. Department of Justice Vera Cubero N.C. Emerging Technologies Consultant, N.C. Department of Public Instruction Mary Penny Kelley Chief of Staff, N.C. Office of State Human Resources Sushma Masemore Ex-Officio, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality David Yokum Chief Scientist, N.C. Office of State Budget and Management Chris Brittingham IT Policy Analyst, N.C. Department of Information Technology (Council Staff) Sofya Diktas Manager for AI Products and Governance, N.C. Department of Information Technology (Council Staff) Abhiram Gunturi Deputy Chief Operating Officer, N.C. Office of the Governor (Council Staff) I-Sah Hsieh Deputy Secretary for AI and Policy, N.C. Department of Information Technology (Council Staff) Abigail Wesson AI Governance and Policy Advisor, N.C. Department of Information Technology (Council Staff) Elena Ashburn N.C. Office of the Governor Margaret Brunson N.C. Office of State Human Resources Andrea DeSantis N.C. Department of Commerce, Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships Kindl Detar N.C. Office of the Governor Jennifer Epperson N.C. Office of the Governor Annie Izod N.C. Department of Commerce, NCWorks Commission Christie McNeill N.C. Office of the Governor Jonathan Moch N.C. Office of the Governor, Energy Policy Task Force Emily Roach N.C. Department of Commerce, Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships Margaret Woods Rural Health Transformation Program Director, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services State Legislature Members of the North Carolina General Assembly who serve on the Council. Zack Hawkins Representative, N.C. House of Representatives, District 31 Jake Johnson Representative, N.C. House of Representatives, District 113; House Deputy Majority Whip Todd Johnson Senator, N.C. Senate, District 35; Senate Majority Whip DeAndrea Salvador Senator, N.C. Senate, District 39 Local Government Officials of North Carolina local governments who serve on the Council. Markell Storay Chief Information Officer and Director of Innovation and Technology, City of Charlotte Shinica Thomas Wake County Commissioner Higher Education Faculty, administrators, and graduate student researchers of North Carolina and other universities who serve on or support the Council. Stan Ahalt Dean, School of Data Science and Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Leslie Boney Principal, BoneConnector.com; former Director, Institute for Emerging Issues, N.C. State University Andrea Crowley Executive Director, N.C. Student Success Center, North Carolina Community Colleges Siobahn Day Grady Founding Director, Institute for AI and Emerging Research, and Associate Professor of Information Systems, North Carolina Central University Angel Hsu Associate Professor of Public Policy, Director of the Data-Driven Lab, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tommy Sowers Chief Innovation Officer and Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, UNC at Chapel Hill Marc Hoit North Carolina State University Issam Alzouby Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Punya Shamsunder Aragula Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill John Rohit Ernest Graduate Student Researcher, Duke University Govan Garner Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Justin Guillory Graduate Student Researcher, Duke University Candace Baldwin Hemingway Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina Central University Keith Livesay Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill John Paul Luedke Graduate Student Researcher, High Point University Tural Mehtiyev Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina State University Beth Morris Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina State University Chima Okoli Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina Central University Shantel Reddick Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina Central University Olivia Shelton Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Austin Small Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina Central University Ashlynn Solomon Graduate Student Researcher, North Carolina Central University Jennifer Tong Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Jonathan Walsh Graduate Student Researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Christina Wiggins Graduate Student Researcher, High Point University Jenny Wu Graduate Student Researcher, Duke University Yixuan Yang Graduate Student Researcher, Duke University Private Sector Business and industry leaders who serve on the Council. Sarah Bacha Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Strategy, Analytics, and AI, LendingTree Phaedra Boinodiris Global Leader of Responsible AI, IBM Consulting Marina Chase Carreker Founder, Galleon Strategies Bryan Harris Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, SAS Igor Jablokov Chairman, Pryon Inc. Rick Knafelz Managing Director, Employee Experience Technology, Bank of America Todd Olson CEO and Co-founder, Pendo Thomas Reardon Partner, Lux Capital Labor and Workforce Organizations Labor and workforce development organizations represented on the Council. Jennie Bowen Workforce Development Director, Rivers East Workforce Development Board Hannah Drummond Vice President, N.C. AFL-CIO North Carolina is a national leader in the responsible adoption and application of artificial intelligence, protecting residents and workers from disruption while fostering an environment where AI enhances quality of life and economic opportunity for all. 2164a5ce-765f-49c1-8ed3-6e334996b82a To advise the Governor on AI strategy, policy, and training so that North Carolina becomes a national leader in AI literacy, governance, and deployment for the benefit of its residents, communities, and economy. 30cf8537-fd73-446b-a9a1-aaba1ff9f4a5 Collaboration Collaborative Governance ~ Nearly every recommendation is co-owned across state agencies, the General Assembly, local governments, higher education, and private-sector partners, reflecting a working assumption that AI governance is achieved through coordinated, multi-stakeholder action rather than unilateral state control. Evidence Evidence-Based Decision-Making ~ Recommendations consistently call for labor-market data, resource gap analyses, third-party evaluations, and baseline metrics before or alongside action, indicating a commitment to grounding policy and deployment choices in data rather than assumption. Accountability Measurable Accountability ~ Every recommendation carries a named owner and completion timeline, and several call for dashboards, satisfaction measurement, and reporting mechanisms, reflecting a value placed on verifiable follow-through rather than aspirational commitments alone. Subsidiarity Delivery of literacy training, workforce transition, and resident services is repeatedly routed through community colleges, local workforce boards, public libraries, and local governments, indicating a preference for action at the most local, community-anchored level capable of delivering it. Oversight Human Oversight ~ Recommendations explicitly bar AI from making final benefits determinations, require documented manual-override procedures, and call for human judgment and agency frameworks in schools, implying a standing principle that AI augments rather than substitutes for human decision-making in consequential matters. Adaptation Continuous Adaptation ~ The Council commits to quarterly meetings, semiannual risk reevaluation, living-document guidance, and a second report in 2027, reflecting an understanding that the roadmap must evolve iteratively rather than stand as a fixed, one-time plan. Trust Public Trust ~ The Roadmap repeatedly frames its recommendations as an investment in public trust rather than technology alone, implying that resident confidence in government and AI systems is treated as a precondition for successful adoption, not merely a byproduct of it. Protection Safeguard North Carolina residents through responsible AI use and strong risk-mitigation practices. 8704e374-5db4-4c58-ad28-98cbdc62b43f 1 Residents Protect Residents from AI Harms 7b320677-615e-41e0-a065-2d90626e3bdb 1.1 Resident Protection ~ Explore and promote policy recommendations to protect residents, especially the most vulnerable, from AI harms such as scams targeting the elderly, threats to youth mental health, and erosion of privacy. Recommend a comprehensive policy package addressing child safety, data privacy, and susceptibility to AI manipulation, to be advanced in the 2027 legislative cycle. Owners: Governor's Office, N.C. General Assembly. Timeline: March 2027. Reemployment Expand Unemployment and Re-Employment Programs 9f1d91ad-7208-4658-9c12-d785e5c3fa7c 1.2 Deploy a statewide upskilling and reskilling initiative to support shifts in the North Carolina job market caused by AI-driven displacement. Launch a statewide AI career transition program using labor-market data to identify at-risk workers and connect them with employers, apprenticeships, and career pathways; and explore a policy support package to disincentivize layoffs, expand short-time compensation, and enhance unemployment insurance relief for AI-related disruptions. Owners: N.C. Department of Commerce, NCWorks Career Centers, N.C. Community College System, Local workforce development boards, N.C. General Assembly. Timeline: March 2027 through December 2028. Resources Account for Resource Demands and Impacts 7858d0d8-21fe-438e-961a-fabbe1195fdd 1.3 Resource Stewardship ~ Ensure appropriate environmental stewardship that balances community needs and public trust with the demands AI-related data centers place on land, water, and energy. Monitor and publicly disclose the impacts of AI infrastructure on communities through independent, third-party evaluations and a comprehensive gap analysis of resource demands, supporting the Energy Policy Task Force's recommendation on data center energy and water reporting. Owners: N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, N.C. General Assembly, Local Governments. Timeline: June 2027. Content Reduce Fraud, Manipulation, and Deception 42e17d17-c3d1-457c-a375-9d772cbbe6b6 1.4 Content Authenticity ~ Ensure all state government-produced content abides by a content authenticity standard to counter AI-generated misinformation. Adopt a content verification standard, such as the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), across state agencies and local government, and encourage its adoption by North Carolina businesses. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, Agency Communications Teams. Timeline: March 2028. Transparency Improve Transparency and Accountability 8823ed4b-666d-47a5-b2c7-2a0a26a3f151 1.5 Give residents the ability to easily identify when AI is used in state services, understand how decisions are made, and access clear pathways to raise concerns. Establish external reporting with a public feedback mechanism for high-risk and public-facing government AI use cases, and maintain transparency, traceability, and human oversight in AI used for government benefits administration, ensuring AI never makes final benefits determinations. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, Agency AI Oversight Committees. Timeline: December 2026 through March 2027. Contingencies Develop Robust Contingency Plans 132012df-54b7-49ce-b41d-6fbdeb806653 1.6 Contingency Planning ~ Establish a statewide contingency framework ensuring continuity of critical AI systems and services during infrastructure disruptions. Develop a statewide plan for maintaining critical AI systems during crises through coordinated resource allocation, prioritized access protocols, documented manual-override procedures, and public-private collaboration. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, N.C. Department of Public Safety, N.C. National Guard. Timeline: September 2027. Cybersecurity Strengthen Cybersecurity 84cee7dc-1a8d-4c6a-8860-c8e0daf302de 1.7 Coordinate with local, peer-state, and federal governments and private-sector partners to encourage the secure use of AI, map the AI cyber-risk landscape, and share identified threats in real time. Monitor, detect, and analyze ongoing AI threats and establish secure communication channels and shared frameworks with trusted liaisons across local government and other partners. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, N.C. Department of Public Safety, N.C. National Guard, Local Governments. Timeline: June 2027. Usage Ensure Responsible Government AI Usage a7e4184e-2e76-4324-85ef-d3febef079be 1.8 Responsible Usage ~ Ensure AI systems used by state agencies meet standardized internal safety, privacy, security, reliability, fairness, and explainability requirements. Establish minimum statewide trustworthy-AI standards with tiered governance and ongoing monitoring, and require each cabinet agency to designate a dedicated AI Liaison accountable for compliance with state and federal law and public expectations. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, N.C. Office of State Human Resources, Agency Leadership. Timeline: September 2026 through December 2027. Preparation Strengthen AI literacy and readiness for students, workers, and communities across North Carolina. 49a8fe7e-0434-441e-9603-2c888caf8aed 2 Upskilling Advance Community Upskilling 72b710e3-2be0-4984-8865-d5cd411ebaca 2.1 Community Upskilling ~ Deploy foundational AI literacy training to all 100 counties of North Carolina. Launch a statewide AI literacy initiative in partnership with community anchor institutions such as NCWorks Career Centers, community colleges, public libraries, and community centers, delivering free, foundational training on AI concepts, online safety, scam awareness, and responsible use to residents of all backgrounds and skill levels. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, NCWorks Career Centers, N.C. Community College System, University of North Carolina System. Timeline: June 2028. Workforce Create Pipelines to Workforce 158a9a78-61a2-49fa-935a-79b0c12cbd1a 2.2 Workforce Pipelines ~ Create workforce pipelines from higher education institutions to employers to place entry-level, AI-enabled jobs. Establish a formal education-to-workforce coalition with North Carolina employers to co-develop a stackable entry-level AI curriculum with direct placement pipelines, and build a classroom-to-career pipeline of AI-focused apprenticeships positioning state government as a model employer. Owners: N.C. Department of Commerce, University of North Carolina System, N.C. Community College System, N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities, N.C. Office of State Human Resources. Timeline: December 2027 through June 2028. Education Support PK-13 Education f08b97a7-b359-4839-917c-90ce105f1a08 2.3 PK-13 Education ~ Make all North Carolina public schools AI-ready by incorporating AI and digital skills into instruction. Partner with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to encourage every public school unit to adopt an AI policy, implementation guidelines, and a professional learning plan aligned with the North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate's durable skills. Owners: N.C. Department of Public Instruction, N.C. Community College System, University of North Carolina System. Timeline: March 2027. Credentialing Promote Credentialing Opportunities d709937b-371f-4448-bdef-4c3f88ad3b32 2.4 Credential more than 50,000 residents in employment-enabling AI skills. Establish a statewide, multi-level AI-fluency micro-credential program across the N.C. Community College System, other higher education institutions, and NCWorks Career Centers, spanning foundational literacy, applied AI, auditing, ethics, and data privacy, developed in collaboration with employers. Owners: N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community College System, NCWorks Career Centers, University of North Carolina System. Timeline: September 2028. Transformation Modernize state government and leverage AI to improve services for the public. f813fea7-8146-43ef-8eee-8b931e1e7202 3 Services Deliver Better for the Public 796f3696-dd5b-49da-afc3-226052ac6435 3.1 Service Delivery ~ Use AI to accelerate the digital delivery of key customer-facing state government services with the most significant, measurable impact on North Carolinians. Launch a digital experience initiative piloting trustworthy AI-enabled improvements to three to five high-volume resident-facing services, tracked through a standardized statewide resident-satisfaction measurement system. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, Governor's Office, Agency Leadership. Timeline: December 2027. Innovation Drive Statewide Innovation 90b572d4-6f5e-4623-a480-ccce4e526cb8 3.2 Create streamlined, formal innovation pipelines between state government and statewide partners, including local government, regional hubs, universities, the private sector, and peer states. Launch partnerships that co-create trustworthy AI-enabled solutions and share AI-ready datasets, potentially including an AI residency program, statewide hackathons, and a government-private sector talent exchange. Owners: N.C. Office of State Human Resources, N.C. Department of Information Technology. Timeline: December 2028. Resources Broaden Access to Critical Resources 7377a84a-976c-437b-a017-5c7525bbe80e 3.3 Resource Access ~ Encourage statewide economic growth by expanding access to critical AI tools, infrastructure, and skilled workforce, especially for institutions delivering essential public services such as government, education, and healthcare. Expand shared compute access for higher education institutions and startups in exchange for AI safety research; expand state-governed compute clusters and secure AI sandboxes; and explore synthetic datasets to protect resident privacy while enabling innovation. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, North Carolina Nonprofits and Higher Education Institutions. Timeline: June 2027 through June 2028. Culture Build a Culture of Change 2af6fdbf-b53f-4c32-8482-c5f25f46fe50 3.4 Culture Change ~ Identify and build a network of change leaders embedded across agencies to learn how to utilize AI responsibly, manage change, and drive bottom-up innovation. Establish agency-embedded change leaders, communities of practice, and multi-level AI-fluency training with formal incentives, and support agencies in assessing and addressing role-specific AI upskilling needs. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, N.C. Office of State Human Resources. Timeline: March 2027 through September 2027. AI Resources Establish Government-Wide AI Resources 7d02c6cb-142b-41a0-bfd8-ecda74180c49 3.5 Shared AI Resources ~ Establish a set of reusable AI solutions that improve performance across agencies by automating manual tasks and freeing employee time. Build a curated internal marketplace of reusable, approved AI solutions that agencies can self-serve and deploy, and incorporate assessment and inclusion of trustworthy AI technologies into procurement processes. Owners: N.C. Department of Information Technology, Governor's Office, Agency Leadership. Timeline: December 2026 through June 2027. 2026-07-25 https://it.nc.gov/documents/statewide-ai-strategic-roadmap/open Owen Ambur Owen.Ambur@verizon.net