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As a business executive, I am constantly asked where the next wave of AI talent will come from. Every company I work with wants employees who are fluent in Artificial Intelligence and who understand blockchain and digital assets. These are no longer fringe skills. They are becoming core to competitiveness across industries from finance to healthcare to logistics.
Yet when I look at schools, I see a mismatch.
Students are experimenting with AI chatbots and hearing about crypto, but there is no consistent guidance. Parents are left guessing. That disconnect should worry every business leader.
Recent data from Nexford University shows that 26% of hiring managers already treat AI fluency as a baseline requirement for applicants, and 65% of managers consider AI-related skills very or extremely important to remain competitive. Meanwhile, jobs requiring AI skills are growing (7.5% year over year) and command wage premiums (averaging ~56%).
If we want a workforce that is prepared, we cannot afford for children to be left behind in AI and blockchain. That is why the launch of DISCOVERING AI's FAMILY AI GAME PLAN™ matters.
For the first time, parents will have a structured framework to guide their children through the AI era. And just as importantly, states like Wyoming are leading with blockchain education programs that prepare students for the digital economy. Together, these initiatives suggest we may finally be building the foundation so no child or parent is left behind in the technologies that will shape the next generation of business.
The FAMILY AI GAME PLAN, launching September 24, is the first national framework designed for parents.
Families review their school's AI policy, take inventory of how AI is already showing up in homework, gaming, and streaming, and set boundaries on what is allowed, what is off limits, and what will be explored together. The plan encourages regular family check-ins so the guidance evolves as the technology changes.
This kind of structure has never existed before. Many have talked about taking action; this program gives families a way to move forward.
Instead of improvising rules after problems arise, families now have a repeatable framework that adapts with them.
Amy D. Love, founder of DISCOVERING AI, explained to me why this matters in our discussion. She told me, “Regardless of whether children are ahead of their parents with AI, haven’t touched it yet, or fall somewhere in between, parents can’t sit on the sidelines. We’ve already learned that lesson with social media.”
She continued, “The FAMILY AI GAME PLAN is designed to give every family a starting point. It gives parents a simple, repeatable playbook to connect technology to their values, ask the right questions, and set evolving boundaries together. Just as families talk about drugs, alcohol, or relationships long before all the answers are clear, AI now belongs at the family table. Parents don’t need to be tech experts. They simply need to start the conversation and revisit the conversation. When they do, children gain the confidence to use AI wisely and creatively, knowing when it’s the right tool, how to draw real insights from it, and how to add their own imagination to what AI provides.”
For business leaders, the significance is clear. Families that feel equipped and in control are more open to adopting AI tools, creating a stronger foundation for schools, workplaces, and the future workforce.
The FAMILY AI GAME PLAN will debut at the DISCOVERING AI National Back to School Game Plan Discussion, a free, virtual event that will bring families together across the country. Parents will hear from experts, see demonstrations of tools like ChatGPT Study and Learn and Google Gemini Guided Learning, and take part in hands-on activities like MindSpark. Breakout groups will help families build their first AI Game Plans in real time.
This is not just about launching a resource.
It is about creating a national movement. Modeled after National Night Out, it seeks to normalize conversations about AI in every home. For businesses, this matters because adoption will not just be driven by schools or government mandates. It will be shaped in living rooms and kitchens, where parents and children decide what they trust.
The most distinctive part of the FAMILY AI GAME PLAN is its values based design. Families do not just check boxes on safety. They link AI use to their own principles. Parents can model healthy work use, while children can set goals for creativity or problem solving. In addition, the program includes needed classes on AI Ethics.
One pilot parent shared that the framework turned AI into a ten minute family discussion tied directly to their values, often with the kids leading the conversation.
For companies, this signals the future of product design. Tools that support family values, provide transparency, and build in parental oversight will see broader adoption. Tools that ignore these expectations risk rejection, regardless of their technical power.
Around the world, governments are embedding AI in education. Singapore and South Korea have national curricula. Denmark has combined AI with ethics and workforce development. Finland has given its citizens free AI courses that have spread internationally. These show the urgency of preparing the next generation.
In speaking with Co-Chair IEEE AI Ethics Education, Marisa Zalabak explained it this way. “AI Education and AI Ethics Education are desperately needed. They always were but the dangers grow daily when powerful tools continue to go without guidance.” Marisa’s mission is all about ensuring that companies and people keep AI ethics top of mind.
Most initiatives are policy or curriculum based. The FAMILY AI GAME PLAN fills a different gap. It builds literacy and trust at the family level and could be exported globally as a complementary model.
AI is not the only frontier. Blockchain and crypto are transforming finance, identity, and ownership. Here too, education efforts are starting. Wyoming has become a standout with the WyoBEE program, short for Wyoming Blockchain Education for Everyone. It provides twelve teaching modules for high school juniors, seniors, and community college students complete with games, teacher manuals, quizzes, and even NFT certificates of completion. With Senator Cynthia Lummis championing blockchain, Wyoming has positioned itself at the forefront of digital asset literacy.
As Lummis has said, "Digital assets ARE the future. We either embrace them, or we lose." That perspective is what makes state programs like WyoBEE so important. They are not about speculation. They are about equipping the next generation with skills to navigate and lead in the digital economy.
Other programs include Everfi's Crypto Foundations course for high schoolers; American Council on Education's Education Blockchain Initiative; Circle U's literacy program at HBCUs. These are important signals that blockchain education is maturing. But what does not yet exist is a family level playbook similar to the one DISCOVERING AI is introducing for AI.
For business leaders, the message is clear.
According to GrandView Research, the global EdTech market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.3% between 2025 and 2030, reaching an estimated value of USD 348.41 billion by the end of the decade. This expansion is being driven by rising demand for personalized learning experiences and adoption of modern teaching methods enhanced by AI and data analytics.
But dollars alone will not guarantee adoption. Families are gatekeepers of trust. A district can license AI or blockchain tools; but if parents resist then investment fails.
Frameworks like the FAMILY AI GAME PLAN and programs like WyoBEE represent adoption infrastructure. They are social scaffolding that makes it possible for new technologies to succeed. For companies; opportunities are significant.
By aligning with these initiatives; businesses can build trust faster; open doors into schools and households; differentiate themselves as long term partners rather than vendors. They will also benefit from stronger talent pipelines; students who grow up with structured guidance in AI and blockchain will enter workforce more confident; more skilled; more ethically aware.
When my daughters asked if they could take a class on AI prompting; I was struck by how hungry kids are to learn these tools. Their curiosity is natural; but without guidance it can turn into confusion or risk. Families and schools need structures that give clarity and direction. The FAMILY AI GAME PLAN provides that for AI. Wyoming's WyoBEE program points the way for blockchain.
The choice is clear. Without frameworks; children will be left behind; scrambling to catch up with technologies that define their future. With these programs; families can lead; schools can partner; businesses can count on a generation ready for the age of AI and blockchain.
The future will be shaped not just in classrooms and boardrooms; but at kitchen tables with AI and blockchain.