By Blake Bertuccelli-Booth
“If Louisiana doesn’t create an environment for innovation, the people who can build your future will build it somewhere else.”
Skilled workers are leaving Louisiana. Since 2005, the state has lost more than 317,000 residents—including 110,000 college-educated workers and over 100,000 young adults.
On July 4, if Louisiana doesn’t get serious about AI, I’ll be one of them. That, I have decided, is my cut-off date. Or call it my final frustration date.
But before I offer my time elsewhere, I’m putting everything I have into making Louisiana an AI leader. I’m launching Louisiana Leads AI — LaLeadsAI.org — a campaign to move Louisiana toward substantive progress.
The campaign is an extension of my AI for Every Student initiative. We’ve delivered AI tools to more than 2,000 Louisiana public school students, trained educators statewide, and helped pass the BESE Resolution on advancing AI Education in Louisiana—a commitment to further statewide AI literacy.
Still, progress has been an upstream fight. I’ve spent lonely, sleepless nights pushing this work with very few state allies. Every win—like BESE’s AI resolution—has been met with restrictive policies that hold us back, such as Governor Landry’s recent Executive Order restricting use of AI. States that embrace AI in education now will own the future. States that don’t will watch their talent—and their future—fade.
We’re already seeing what happens when states choose to lead. Utah teachers have written thousands of lesson plans through statewide AI summits. Massachusetts Governor is investing $100 million in state-run AI initiatives to build data infrastructure and workforce capacity. New York committed $275 Million to build their AI Institute. North Carolina has been celebrated for being the first state to adopt an AI Literacy Index to measure progress across the state.
Meanwhile, Louisiana is moving in the opposite direction—tightening rules on AI and limiting teachers to just three approved tools, none of which, teachers tell me, reflect the reality of classrooms where most students already use ChatGPT.
Why AI Immediate Action Matters
AI-in-the-classroom innovation is still new, giving Louisiana a real chance to lead. Unlike other industries, where the map is already drawn, AI in education is still being shaped in real time. States that act boldly now can define the standards, build the models, and attract the talent that others will follow.
My own story proves the point. I’ve transitioned my software company to the University of Illinois Chicago, after it invested deeply in the AI technology my team and I are building. That investment has created momentum, opportunity, and stability. I now spend most of my professional time there because, unlike in Louisiana, I’m not met with constant resistance. Instead of fighting roadblocks, I’m finding resources, investment, and support for new ideas across Illinois.
My heart has been torn. I love Louisiana. I’ve poured years of work into this state. But I’m finding success elsewhere—because other states are willing to bet on innovation. That’s the lesson I hope Louisianans take seriously: if Louisiana doesn’t create an environment for innovation, the people who can build your future will build it somewhere else.
What Needs to Happen by July 4
Louisiana can still lead—if it acts decisively. Four achievable steps would change the state’s downward trajectory:
- Incentivize participation in a national AI Literacy measure so Louisiana can set a clear bar—and win against it in future years. Indexes like the AI Innovation Index are turn-key solutions for the state to lead. We need to put dollars toward making sure that Louisiana school systems are participating and winning those innovation indexes.
- Approve a high-quality AI IBC (Industry-Based Credential) so students can earn recognized qualifications in AI. We’ve I’ve already started to build this IBC with state partners, including LED, LSU Gordon A. Cain Center for STEM Literacy, the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, and GNO Inc. We just need the state’s Workforce Investment Committee to give us the thumbs up next time it meetsthey meet.
- Expand the AI tools library for teachers and students instead of restricting innovation through centralized control. 86% of students use ChatGPT. Louisiana needs to adopt innovative tools so that it can also push AI Literacy. We can safely adopt tools by developing a clearinghouse. I am already working on defining this with a BESE AI Committee, chaired by Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson. The Louisiana Department of Education needs only just has to adopt the suggested policies when they are delivered to BESE on March 10th.
- Establish the Louisiana Innovation Institute to push innovation and make policy suggestions. The Institute can follow New York’s model, working with an existing state institution and workforce partners to do three things: (a) fund grants (b) review and suggest tech-related State policy (c) manage the Educational Tool Library. The majority of funding should come from the State budgets, with additional support from private and philanthropic partnerships.
Other states are tackling two or three of those steps. If Louisiana tackles all four by July 4, we won’t just catch up—we’ll lead the nation. This is a moment to move, not stall.
The Cost of Inaction
Louisiana has already paid dearly for inaction:
- 317,000+ residents lost since 2005.
- 110,000+ college-educated workers gone.
- 100,000+ young adults leaving major metro areas.
- 50,000+ residents gone since 2020.
Personally, I have seen many bright colleagues leave Louisiana after facing a lack of support here. Every lost resident represents lost innovation, lost tax base, lost future.
This isn’t a “maybe” problem. It’s the structural reality we’re living in. We must innovate. We cannot afford to accept business as usual.
A Bridge to Somewhere—or Nowhere
Helping Louisiana win has often felt like building a bridge to nowhere.
I’ve kept volunteering my time and talent here because I still believe Louisiana can lead in AI. I hope this state doesn’t become the place I only visit for fests and family. I want to invest here. But I’m not going to invest in bridges to nowhere.
July 4 is my line in the sand. If Louisiana meets those four achievable goals around AI, we can stem the brain drain and build a real future here. If not, I’ll stop fighting uphill and turn my energy fully toward Massachusetts or New York or any of the other states that actually want to lead.
This is not just my struggle. Too many peers have left. Many more will follow.
With LaLeadsAI.org, I hope others join me to stop the brain drain.
AI presents an opportunity to kickstart innovation.
Let’s lead AI to realize a brighter future.