AI Literacy Event Reframes AI as a Force for Opportunity and Workforce Empowerment
PHOENIX, AZ, February 25, 2026 – Leaders from government, academia, industry, and civil
society gathered at Arizona State University for a landmark convening hosted by EqualAI and
ASU, entitled “Flipping the Script on AI: Strengthening Human Work in the Intelligence Age.”
The event produced a clear, unified message: fear regarding artificial intelligence is natural,
but this new technology presents real opportunities when leveraged as a strategic tool to be
governed, taught, and deployed in service of human innovation.
“Our conversations were all about how AI literacy can be a source of empowerment,” said
Miriam Vogel, President and CEO of EqualAI. “By emphasizing effective governance, we can
ensure AI adoption expands opportunity and trust across our communities.”
Across a full day of fireside chats, private roundtables, panel discussions, live AI
demonstrations, and a reception, participants converged on a shared vision that AI literacy is
the defining issue of this era, and that closing the gaps in access, education, and trust —
particularly in rural communities and vulnerable industries like journalism and K–12 education
— requires alliances between government, universities, nonprofits, and the private sector.
“To access all of the opportunities we know are possible in the AI economy, we want to make
sure that foundational AI skills are as widely distributed as possible,” said Taylor Stockton,
Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor. “Every technology throughout
history has ultimately created more jobs than it has destroyed — our job is to make sure there
are pathways to even better jobs and even greater economic opportunity.”
The convening featured both private leadership sessions and public-facing discussions on
• Practical tools and policy approaches for building AI literacy across the workforce.
• Grounding AI in public responsibility and institutional leadership.
• Showcasing how ASU is equipping students and the community with the skills to
navigate an AI-enabled economy.
• Exploring “counter-narratives” where AI is successfully used to expand creative
capacity in fields like journalism and law.
Notable Participants
• Miriam Vogel, President and CEO of EqualAI
• Taylor Stockton, Chief Innovation Officer at the Department of Labor
• Michael Crow, President of ASU
• Angie Cooper, President of Heartland Forward
• Dr. Battinto Batts, Dean of the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism
• Dr. Carole Basile, Dean of the ASU Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching & Learning
• Ilana Lowery, Director of School Partnerships and Policies, Common Sense Media
“ASU is proud to partner with EqualAI in advancing the critical conversation around AI literacy and governance,” said President of Arizona State University, Michael Crow. “Events like this are exactly how we ensure AI becomes a tool for expanding opportunity – for students, workers, and communities across Arizona and beyond.”
For more information about EqualAI and its AI literacy initiatives, visit EqualAI.org or contact them at [email protected].
About EqualAI
EqualAI is a nonprofit organization that helps companies, policymakers, and leading institutions define and implement AI governance frameworks that foster innovation and enable broader AI adoption.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University, ranked the No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News
& World Report for 11 years in succession, has forged the model for a New American
University by operating on the principles that learning is a personal and orig inal journey for
each student; that they thrive on experience and that the process of discovery cannot bebound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to
accessibility, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands
opportunities for qualified students.
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