From Robots to Resumes: South Carolina’s Future Increasingly Dependent on AI in Education
By: Susie Shannon, President & CEO, SC Competes
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s already shaping the way we work, communicate, and live. From AgenticAI powering medical diagnostics to AI-enabled robots sorting packages in warehouses, AI is already woven into the fabric of our economy. As this technology rapidly evolves, South Carolina must ask itself a critical question: Are we preparing our students to thrive in an AI-driven world?
Right now, the answer is not completely clear.
South Carolina is one of the first states in the nation to invest in AI education, and is the first state to roll out an AI education curriculum that was built with direct inputs from South Carolina’s industries. This effort has been strongly championed by Representative Jeff Bradley, Chairman of the House Committee on Regulations, Administrative Procedures, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity. Under his leadership, the Committee has been instrumental in driving the responsible adoption of AI across state and local government and fostering its use in K-12 and post-secondary education. Chairman Bradley’s vision has centered on using AI not only as a tool for efficiency and innovation, but also as a foundation for building a modern workforce and ensuring South Carolina remains a national leader in both economic development and technological readiness. Working closely together around AI in Education, SC Council on Competitiveness (SC Competes), SC Department of Education, and Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) are seeing that if we want to attract high-tech industry, grow a resilient economy, and empower our young people with upward mobility, we must prioritize AI education, starting- at least – in our middle and high schools.
SC Competes PAL robotics handler and USC freshman engineering student, Aidan Sundell, introducing PAL (Palmetto Automated Learner) to students from Woodmont Middle School in Greenville, SC. This visit was part of the PALmetto AI Pathways initiative.
Why AI Education Matters
The demand for AI-literate workers is skyrocketing. A recent Goldman Sachs report suggests that 300 million full-time jobs globally may be exposed to automation via generative AI.
These jobs are not limited inside of Silicon Valley—they’re showing up in South Carolina’s logistics, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and agriculture industries. SC Competes’ SC Tech Economic Impact Study (2024) showed that the tech industry has grown more than twice as fast as South Carolina’s economy over the previous decade, with this rapid growth due in part to companies across all industries dramatically increasing their reliance on technology in their supply chains and replacing repetitive tasks and entry-level roles with AI.
But, hold on! AI education isn’t just about preparing students for tech jobs. It’s about teaching critical thinking, ethics, data literacy, and problem-solving, skills we all need to survive and thrive in the workplace. It empowers students to understand the systems that impact their lives and to participate in shaping the future. In a world increasingly influenced by automated decision-making, understanding how AI works is quickly becoming as fundamental as reading and math. A recent academic study from Cornell University found AI’s complementary impact – the need for new skills like digital literacy, teamwork, adaptability – is up to 50% larger than its substitution effect, leading to net growth in demand for these skills rather than the feared decrease in labor needs due to the onslaught of AI. But, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, employees are not getting the training and support they need. More than one fifth of employees report that they have received minimal-to-no support despite their using AI tools. McKinsey Global Institute projects that 375 million jobs – 14% of the global workforce – will require reskilling by 2030 (which will be here before we blink!).
Opportunities for South Carolina
Right now, South Carolina is perfectly positioned to lead and not just follow. In June, SREB and SC Competes convened AI educators with business “use case” speakers from technology, agriculture, sports, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, management, tourism, and entertainment. Mashing these industry experts and AI educators together allowed the groups to gain a better understanding of opportunities students will have access to within our state’s AI economy and across all of our major economic engines. These teachers are the very educators who will be inside of South Carolina’s high school classrooms beginning this fall teaching the planned 4-course AI curriculum. During the SC Competes Fall Summit, educators again will have the opportunity to discuss the skills needed for an AI-Forward workforce with industry leaders during panel discussions and an interactive working group session. The conversations around AI workforce development at the Fall Summit will fit within an agenda packed with AI-related topics – from supply chains to process improvements to economic development and more.
South Carolina is investing in AI education because we clearly understand that the demand for AI-enabled skillsets will only continue to grow. Preparing now for the Workforce of the Future places South Carolina out front in producing the skilled, highly-knowledgeable workforce required by our economy. The newly-developed SREB AI curriculum will roll out in 26 South Carolina Career and Technical (CTE) schools this fall. The curriculum, developed in partnership with the University of Florida, includes six units of study each year that are project-based and rooted within an “industry wrapper” chosen both for their importance to our state’s economy, but also for their adoption of AI. At the end of each academic year, students will have the opportunity to earn a highly-recognized industry AI credential, culminating in 4 certifications as well as an industry capstone project and internship opportunities – the very opportunities particularly-prized by our employers.
AI in Education Commission
In addition to investing in one of the first AI curriculums in the country, SC has been heavily invested in setting the stage for “the future of work” as AI changes workforce needs and training required to adjust and weave AI skills into post-secondary training, upskilling, and life skills for the everyday work life. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster chairs the SREB 16-state “AI in Education” Commission on which SC Competes and other stakeholders have been serving for the past year to develop recommendations across K12, Post-secondary, Education Policy, and work skills. SC is no stranger to work skills, codifying the Profile of a SC Graduate in 2016 and setting a national standard for the world-class skills required to thrive in work and also in civic life. These skills will remain a cornerstone of the needs of the future workforce and, as AI automates and simplifies work, the human ability to judge information through “Critical-Thinking” and “Knowing-How-To-Learn” will become imperative to success. Find the SREB recommendations here: SREB Commission on AI in Education – Southern Regional Education Board
Representative Jeffrey A. Bradley, Chairman of the House Regulation, Admin. Procedures, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity speaking at the SC Competes 2025 Fall Summit.
A Call to Action
South Carolina presently sits in an exciting place. South Carolina’s dedicated AI companies like Delta Bravo AI have invested in upskilling high school and college students in AI since 2016 through internships and participation in our South Carolina Fraunhofer USA Alliance program. “Bringing our students, businesses and communities together to learn and benefit from AI right now- this is a uniquely South Carolina thing,” says Delta Bravo CEO Rick Oppedisano. “It helps our economy and keeps our best and brightest right here in the state.”
We encourage industry to investigate and map out AI opportunities not just for operational efficiencies, but also to advance their fundamental framework. As citizens, we can take part in this revolution by learning new skills in understanding how AI can help us with simplifying tasks in our jobs and in our daily life. As new tools and applications are developed, we should look at them with a critical eye to ensure they are ethical for humanity and secure with the data they access.
AI is no longer a technology that is just decided on in the technical teams of large technology companies; AI is for all of us, and we must all be involved in understanding its implications in all of our lives.