The Executive Order Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence was signed on December 11, 2025. The document established a deadline for Federal agencies to make several key determinations by March 11, 2026. A primary mandate is to specify appropriate uses for funds that have been appropriated by Congress which remain unspent. Another is to determine whether or not state jurisdictions may be imposing burdensome regulations on the new technology.
In advance of this deadline, the United States Department of Labor published the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework on February 13th. This provides a roadmap for integration into our workforce and education systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here now, and it is having a measurable impact on healthcare, manufacturing and office work.
The document assumes that AI literacy is becoming fundamental. By mastering these new tools, workers can become creators and collaborators, using AI to unlock new levels of productivity.
The curriculum outlines five basic areas that every worker should know:- Principles: Understanding how AI recognizes patterns and its inherent limitations.
- Usage: Identifying how AI can help with routine tasks like summarizing reports or drafting documents.
- Direction: Learning how to engineer "prompts," which provide clear instructions for optimal results.
- Evaluation: Developing the critical eye needed to verify facts and apply human judgment to AI outputs.
- Responsibility: Understanding how to protect confidential information and use AI ethically.
The DoL takes the position that AI literacy can’t be learned with a manual. The framework emphasizes the "experiential learning" model, where workers solve real-world tasks using AI tools. This would be on the job type training. While it is beneficial to engage in learning embedded in context, it is not likely that all of the components that will be necessary can be accomplished by these means.
For example, if AI is to be an amplifier of human skill, and not a replacement for it, then critical thinking skills will be necessary. Instilling this elusive combination of reflective inquiry and systematic reasoned judgement has been attempted through the ages. It has been demonstrated that hands-on work might not organically develop human creativity, domain expertise, and ethical judgment.
Despite this, the Department of Labor has substantially advanced complying with Executive Order 14365. It is calling on state agencies, community colleges, and employers to utilize this underlying structure for program design. As technology continues to evolve, the agency will regularly update the framework to reflect new capabilities and labor market needs. In addition, educators will use this new baseline to further set forth the scope of digital literacy.
Rank and file Americans must recognize that this change has come. It is here to stay. Please consider how you might benefit from learning these tools. Feel free to contact me at the N.C. Cooperative Extension office in Murphy for more information.
