Last Updated on July 7, 2026 3:16 pm
RALEIGH — North Carolina's AI Leadership Council released a comprehensive statewide artificial intelligence strategic roadmap Tuesday, laying out 17 goals around three core priorities that could reshape how state government, universities, and workers engage with rapidly evolving technology.
The roadmap, built around the principles of Protect, Prepare, and Transform, was developed by the council established under Gov. Josh Stein's Executive Order 24 in 2025. It represents the state's most detailed framework yet for governing and leveraging AI across public and private sectors.
“This roadmap gives our state a strategy to protect people from harm, prepare our workforce for the jobs of tomorrow, and transform how government serves North Carolinians,” Stein said in announcing the plan.
NCDIT Secretary Nate Denny and Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley both emphasized the plan's workforce component — a priority with direct implications for institutions like Appalachian State University, which has already integrated AI education into multiple colleges and recently joined statewide initiatives to expand computational training.
The “Protect” pillar addresses AI ethics, consumer safeguards, and algorithmic accountability — areas where advocates have pushed for guardrails as government agencies and employers increasingly use AI in hiring, lending, and service delivery decisions.
“Prepare” targets workforce development, including upskilling programs for workers whose industries are being disrupted by automation, and curriculum alignment at community colleges and universities to ensure graduates can work alongside AI tools.
“Transform” envisions using AI to improve government efficiency and service delivery, from streamlining permit processing to improving rural health care coordination.
For the High Country, the roadmap's workforce provisions matter most. Manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and tourism — the backbone of the regional economy — are all seeing AI-driven change. The roadmap's success in delivering upskilling resources to rural workers could determine whether mountain communities benefit from or are left behind by the AI transition.
The full roadmap is available through the NC Department of Information Technology.
