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North Dakota just made one of the smartest decisions any state has made in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
While other states are busy debating moratoriums, pumping the brakes, or regulating an industry they barely understand, North Dakota legislative leaders are doing something refreshingly different. They’re choosing knowledge over fear.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader David Hogue announced the creation of the North Dakota First AI Task Force, an interim committee that will spend the coming months learning everything it can about artificial intelligence, the massive computing facilities that power it, and what policies position our state to win.<\/p>\n
That matters because without abundant, reliable energy, there is no artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Forget the outdated phrase “data center.” These are intelligence factories. Every breakthrough from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, Anthropic and countless others depends on enormous computing power, and enormous computing power depends on electricity.<\/p>\n
North Dakota has exactly what America needs. We have stranded natural gas. We have abundant lignite resources. We have an unmatched energy workforce. We are among the nation’s leaders in available energy.<\/p>\n
Yet despite all those advantages, we’re only 26th among the states in data center development.<\/p>\n
That has to change.<\/p>\n
Hogue understands both the opportunity and the responsibility.<\/p>\n
“We’re about putting North Dakota first,” he told me. “We really want to be able to come into the 2027 legislature well informed about the landscape.” That’s exactly the right approach.<\/p>\n
Rep. Jonathan Warrey will chair the task force made up of eight legislators and two home-grown experts on AI and energy: former Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark and former University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott.<\/p>\n
Rather than rushing toward regulation or blindly throwing incentives around, Hogue says lawmakers want to understand everything from power consumption and grid reliability to tax policy, workforce needs, artificial intelligence’s impact on children, and how other states are approaching this rapidly changing technology.<\/p>\n
“We as a state start developing the knowledge and the expertise to figure out what makes sense for North Dakota,” he said. That’s leadership.<\/p>\n
Hogue also recognizes what makes North Dakota uniquely positioned. “We are an energy exporter,” he said. “We’re wealthy when it comes to producing energy… We know they’re a significant consumer of energy, so they’re clearly interested in North Dakota.” Exactly.<\/p>\n
America is locked in an AI race with China. Winning won’t happen simply because Silicon Valley writes better software. It will happen because America can build the intelligence factories that power AI faster than our adversaries can.<\/p>\n
That requires energy. North Dakota can provide it.<\/p>\n
I’m equally encouraged that this committee isn’t limiting its vision to attracting investment. Hogue says artificial intelligence itself can transform state government, education, military readiness, and virtually every industry.<\/p>\n
“We’re in that AI world now,” he said. “It’s rapidly changing, and it’s time that we inform ourselves as policymakers about what makes sense for North Dakota.” I couldn’t agree more.<\/p>\n
North Dakota doesn’t need to panic. We don’t need to chase every shiny object. As Hogue wisely noted, “This is an opportunity for North Dakota. It’s not something that we need to jump at.”<\/p>\n
Calm. Deliberate. North Dakota First.<\/p>\n
That’s exactly how you position an energy powerhouse to become an AI powerhouse\u2014and help America win the most important technology race of this century.<\/p>\n