I grew up working Florida soil, the kind that teaches patience, persistence, and respect for what’s coming next season.
My family has farmed this land for generations, and one lesson agriculture drives home is this: the folks who study the change coming over the horizon are the ones who weather it best.
That’s how I’ve come to think about artificial intelligence. Not as something to fear, not as something to hype, but as the next big change on the horizon. And from where I sit, Florida is better positioned to lead it than just about any state in the country.
The numbers back that up. A new economic analysis projects AI will add somewhere between $81 billion and $121 billion to Florida’s economy by 2035. That’s not a rounding error. That’s comparable in scale to adding a brand new major industry to a state that is already the fourth-largest economy in the nation. And it’s not some distant forecast. The momentum is already here.
I’ve seen it in agriculture too. Precision sensors helping citrus growers decide when to irrigate. Predictive tools helping farmers manage inputs and reduce waste.
AI isn’t replacing the farmer. It’s giving the farmer better information, the same way the weather radio did, the same way GPS guidance did.
Every generation of Florida agriculture has had its moment where the skeptics sat it out and the early adopters pulled ahead. This is that moment again. And that same story is playing out in healthcare, construction, logistics and just about every other sector driving Florida’s economy.
Florida’s structural advantages make us a natural home for this technology. No state income tax. A business-friendly environment that has attracted more than 74 company headquarters since 2020, more than any other state, world-class universities, and a workforce that is already running toward this opportunity.
Average tech salaries in Florida hit nearly $117,000 last year, the only state in the country with double-digit tech wage growth. AI-related job postings surged 266% in South Florida alone. Orlando’s tech employment grew 21% since 2019, double the national rate.
These are not Silicon Valley numbers. These are Florida numbers, happening in Florida communities, for Florida families. Major companies are voting with their feet, and they keep choosing us.
That’s the good news. Here’s the part that should concern us.
As states across the country rush to write their own AI rules, we’re watching a patchwork take shape that could undermine everything Florida has built. A small business owner in Brevard shouldn’t have to navigate one set of AI regulations in Florida and a completely different set the moment they do business across a state line. That’s not protection. That’s paralysis. And the burden lands hardest on the smallest businesses, the ones gaining the most from this technology.
I’ve never believed that progress and common sense are opposites. The wisest people I’ve known learned what they know from doing the work, watching what holds up over time, and asking the right questions.
That instinct is what the AI policy conversation needs more of right now. Not 50 competing state frameworks pulling in different directions, but one clear national standard that gives businesses and workers a real runway.
Florida has done its part. We’ve built the foundation. Now it’s time for Washington to keep pace.
The future is already taking shape. Florida should be leading it, and with the right policies in place, we will.
