Arizona House bill would create statewide summer AI education program  

By Tom Blodgett
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A bill running through the Arizona House of Representatives would establish a statewide artificial intelligence education program designed to teach digital literacy, critical thinking and AI-driven entrepreneurship skills to residents across the state.  

Sponsored by Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, the proposal would create the Arizona Artificial Intelligence Education Program within the Arizona Department of Education. The department would administer a voluntary summer course offered in various locations statewide and open to any Arizona resident.  

The measure is formally titled the “Getting Arizona Ready for AI Act.” It outlines a two-part curriculum combining digital civic literacy with hands-on artificial intelligence training for small business and entrepreneurship.  

Kolodin said the bill is intended as a forward-looking response to rapid technological change.  

“Artificial intelligence will cause massive disruption to the labor market in the very near future, displacing conventional employment,” Kolodin said by text to Independent Newsmedia.  

He framed the legislation as a choice between social safety-net expansion and economic self-reliance.  

“Western civilization has two choices — pursue failed policies like universal basic income or return to our roots as a self-sufficient nation of producers and innovators,” he said. “In order to do the latter, Arizona students must learn both the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship and critical thinking as well as how to use artificial intelligence to augment and supercharge those entrepreneurial skills.”  

What the bill would do  

Under House Bill 2409, the summer course would include a digital hygiene and civic integrity curriculum designed to teach students how to navigate the online world safely and critically.  

Instruction would include digital hygiene principles, the nature of algorithmic bias, how technology platforms influence user behavior, best practices for protecting personal data, media literacy skills to identify misinformation and AI-generated content, and general critical thinking skills.  

The second portion of the program would focus on artificial intelligence for small business and entrepreneurship.  

The curriculum would provide practical training on starting or growing a small business using AI tools, including marketing, customer outreach, operational efficiency, automation and ethical considerations of AI use in a business context.  

The Office of Economic Opportunity would develop the small-business curriculum and identify volunteer instructors from business, technology and education backgrounds. 

State agencies and local governments could allow uncompensated use of public facilities to host the courses. Public schools, universities and community colleges could award academic credit to individuals who complete the course.  

Legislative findings in the bill state that artificial intelligence presents opportunities for economic growth and challenges to democratic processes, and that equipping residents with digital literacy and AI skills would promote innovation, job creation and civic resilience.  

Bipartisan backing  

HB 2409 was introduced with multiple co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.  

“It’s a bill with co-sponsors across the ideological spectrum, so I’m cautiously optimistic,” Kolodin said.  

The bill continues to move through the Arizona Legislature.  It passed the House Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Committee on Feb. 12 on a party-line vote. Opposition from Democrats regarded a lack of funding for the program. 

It unanimously passed the House Rules Committee on Feb. 16. 

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Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).