By Linda Murphy

In Oklahoma we fought back against losing control of education to the federal government in the past, this time it is coming through technology if we allow it.

by Linda Murphy

Oklahomans have long supported a state-wide system of Career Technology Centers – which have been rated as one of the best in the nation. We all know students need opportunities in the workforce. Students who graduate from Career-Tech have been well prepared for jobs and careers with the training they received. Great effort has been made to train students for jobs that are needed in our economy.

Today we are entering a new era where major changes are underway. The changes are coming rapidly with the advancement of Technology and will bring yet unseen consequences. It is important that we understand the plans being promoted and implemented for education and workforce training, which will directly affect the lives of our children and grandchildren.

The Trump Administration has initiated national technology plans with extensive use of AI – Artificial Intelligence. The plans involve Economic Development, Banking, National Security, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Workforce, Education, and Research. The plan depends on Technology and includes surveillance, data collection, data sharing and storage. If this technocratic structure is fully developed on the Federal level, it could eliminate representative government, including local control of education and the workforce.

Corporate/Government partnerships have long created systems for top-down control of education and workforce training. One example is the work of Lou Gerstner, who was the CEO of IBM and became a key leader in shaping the corporate-backed, bipartisan education reform agenda that heavily influenced Bill Clinton’s education policies. Clinton’s plans included use of technology backed by the Carnegie Foundation’s National Center for Education and the Economy. It included “cradle to grave” student data collection and tracking.

Gerstner spearheaded the corporate demand for a more rigorous, performance-driven system, in tandem with the White House and state governors working through the National Governors Association (NGA), earlier headed by Clinton. Governor Stitt is now leading the NGA.

1996 National Education Summit: Gerstner led a 1996 meeting of 47 governors, business leaders, and President Clinton to push for higher academic standards and accountability.

Founding of Achieve Inc: In 1996, Gerstner and other business leaders founded Achieve Inc., a non-profit organization, which produced Common Core State Standards.

Focus on Standards: Gerstner argued that 50 different sets of standards made no sense for a global economy and pushed for national standards and measurement.

Gerstner has been a major voice in transforming education from a local issue into a business-driven agenda centered on standards, assessment, and alignment.” (Summary from Google AI)

Gerstner in interviews and newspaper opinion pieces said we should “eliminate local school boards.” In Oklahoma, grassroots citizens rose up to fight against the loss of local control and “education reform plans” put in place by Gerstner and his Oklahoma allies in the Chamber of Commerce. The plans included: Outcomes Based Education (OBE) repealed in 1995; School-to-Work vetoed in 1995, and Common Core Standards repealed in 2014.

Educated citizens statewide fought for local control, academics and parental rights and appealed to our state government officials. We were able to change laws because our system of representative government worked. The battle for control of education and the workforce is still going but now the stakes have been raised with the danger of technocracy. Once locked in place we can’t vote it out.

Local Control and Representative Government are Roadblocks to Central Control.

A government ran by technocrats removes the roadblocks of local control and representative government. In the name of efficiency, economic development, security, scientific advancement and other desirable outcomes, our American government with checks and balances would be replaced.

Technology CEOs have been included in the planning of the Federal Technology Structure. They are the people who build, create, run and profit from technology dependence. They have received federal funding to develop their corporate-owned, government-backed systems, for surveillance, data collection and other uses which should be alarming to the public. This is why we need to read, study and think about what these changes mean. There is no resistance when people do not know what is happening.

President Trump’s administration began with an all-out effort to advance AI and build a Federal Technology Structure. He used a federal regulatory approach, eliminating State regulation of AI and other technology, requiring states to comply with the national plan. It aimed at accelerating AI development, promoting domestic technology manufacturing, and bolstering digital assets. In April, Trump also signed an order involving K-12 grade Education, AI and Workforce Training. A few highlights of the initiatives:

Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth

– April 23, 2025, Executive Order states that all educators should receive professional development on incorporating the technology into all subject areas.

– Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer would be tasked with developing registered apprenticeship programs in AI-related jobs.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Centers

– Genesis Mission: Created to use AI for scientific discovery by leveraging National Laboratories, supercomputers, and federal data to accelerate research. (The Department of Energy’s 1 ½ minute on You tube video, “The Genesis Mission” shows the Mission “unites all data into one system” to advance “scientific progress.”)

– AI Executive Orders: Signed orders to "promote the export of American AI technology stacks, and remove barriers to AI innovation.”

– Data Center Acceleration: Issued directives to speed up federal permitting of data center infrastructure to support AI development.

– Stargate Project: Announced a multibillion-dollar, public-private partnership (involving Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank) to strengthen AI infrastructure in the U.S.

– Export Controls: Promoted the export of “full-stack” American AI technologies – including hardware, data labeling, and models – to allied nations.

Digital Finance and Blockchain

– Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Ordered the creation of a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile and Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, using forfeited assets.

– Crypto Regulation: Appointed a "crypto czar" and initiated a federal regulatory framework to position the U.S. as a leader in blockchain and digital assets.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure

– Drone Dominance Initiative: Signed orders to accelerate the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into national airspace.

– Cybersecurity Updates: Updated federal cybersecurity policies to focus on secure software development, post-quantum cryptography planning, and protection of critical infrastructure.

– AI-ISAC: Proposed establishment of an AI Information Sharing and Analysis Center (AI-ISAC) to protect AI systems from threats like data poisoning.

Deregulation and Procurement

– Federal IT Modernization: Overhauled the Federal Acquisition Regulation to simplify procurement, allowing agencies to acquire and implement new technology faster.

– Rolling Back Regulations: Revoked previous AI policies requiring safety tests, aiming to reduce bureaucracy in AI development.

Manufacturing and Energy

– Energy Grid Upgrades: Implemented strategies to enhance the U.S. electric grid to support high energy demands from AI, including fostering nuclear and geothermal energy.” (Summary by Google AI)

Will Americans allow a Technology Driven Government to have Control?

Education and workforce training have long been areas that central planners desire to control, while local control is eroded then eliminated. Government policies, laws and regulations involved in the current Federal Technology plan will affect all of us. While the benefits of technology can be great, we must be wise and avoid allowing a system of education and workforce training to be created that entraps our students and takes away freedom.

Education Week reported on the federal control of education through technology. The April 22, 2025 article, “What Trump’s Draft Executive Order on AI Could Mean for Schools,” quotes John Bailey, former U.S. Department of Education staffer under President George W. Bush: “History is replete with examples of really good and important work [in education] that, the moment the federal government started establishing it as a priority, ended up [becoming] controversial,” he said. “We’ve seen this with school accountability; we’ve seen it with Common Core.” In Oklahoma we fought back against losing control of education to the federal government in the past, this time it is coming through technology if we allow it.