In 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act and set off an education revolution. The Act established land-grant colleges across the country, democratizing higher education and equipping generations of Americans with the skills to meet the challenges of industrialization. That bold move helped transform the United States into the world’s economic powerhouse.
Today, we face a technological revolution of similar magnitude: Artificial Intelligence. Will we meet this challenge with the same boldness Lincoln displayed in 1862? To do so, we propose passing a Digital-AI Land Grant Act: a federal initiative that builds a nationwide system of universities and colleges equipped to educate and train every region for the age of AI.
Just as the steam engine and electricity once altered work and society, AI will demand new skills, new institutions, and a renewed commitment to broad-based opportunity. We’ve started to take steps to address this, with President Donald J. Trump signing an Executive Order, establishing a White House Task Force on AI Education and a Presidential AI Challenge.
But piecemeal efforts are not enough. A fragmented, state-by-state approach will leave too many communities behind. If America is to lead in the global AI race, and do so in a way that strengthens rather than fractures our democracy, we need a national strategy of scale and urgency.
Why a Digital-AI Land Grant Act is Necessary
The last great technological revolution, the rise of information and communications technologies, delivered immense wealth but also deepened inequality. Prosperity clustered in a few metro regions, while rural, industrial, and minority communities often fell further behind. We cannot afford to repeat that mistake with AI.
Without decisive action, AI will accelerate wealth concentration, intensify geographic divides, and widen mistrust in institutions. A national Digital-AI Land Grant system can counteract these imbalances.
Done well, a national Digital-AI Land Grant system would expand access to education by connecting research universities with regional and community colleges; grow the regional AI ecosystems by building on the National Science Foundation-led regional engines initiative to develop playbooks; train the workforce of the future—from civilian and military cybersecurity specialists to advanced manufacturing technicians—to meet surging demand; and reinvigorate public trust through lighthouse projects that will enable kids, families, and seniors to experience the benefits of trustworthy AI.
Five Pillars of the Digital-AI Land Grant System
Here’s how a Digital-AI Land Grant would work:
- Hybrid Campuses: Blend online flexibility with in-person mentorship and lab work that promotes learning by doing. Develop adaptive curricula that impart critical thinking and creativity with AI tools and technology to spur entrepreneurship and meet the needs of the labor market.
- Accelerated Faculty Pathways: Streamline hiring and promotion to bring in urgently needed expertise from academia, government, and industry.
- Innovative Funding Mechanisms: Replace reliance on state budgets and student tuition by drawing from a “digital dividend” generated by technology and social media companies.
- Modified Federal Tax Incentives: Mobilize private capital by rewarding philanthropic support for Digital-AI Land Grant institutions.
- Tech-University Partnerships: Incentivize collaboration between leading technology firms and their AI data centers, top-tier universities, and underserved regional institutions to increase access and opportunity to diversify the talent pool.
Funding the Future
When Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, land sales financed a new higher-education system. Today, the equivalent “land” is cyberspace. The internet, built on taxpayer-funded research, has generated extraordinary wealth for technology and social media companies. It is only fair that a portion of this wealth, a digital dividend, be reinvested to prepare the workforce for the AI age. An education tax on companies that profit from cyberspace, much like taxes on gambling or alcohol, would provide the resources needed for this generational project.
A Call to Action
The United States cannot navigate the Age of AI by leaving education to the market or to a patchwork of state programs. Just as the land-grant system fueled the Industrial Revolution, a new Digital-AI Land Grant system can equip America to thrive in the AI era. This is not just about competitiveness, it is about ensuring that every American, in every community, has the knowledge and opportunity to succeed in a world shared with intelligent machines.
Lincoln understood that even in the darkest days of civil war, the nation had to invest in its future. Today, in the face of unprecedented technological change, we must do the same. A Digital-AI Land Grant Act is the bold step required to secure our economic vitality, our democratic resilience, and our shared prosperity for generations to come.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
