During a speaking engagement in Ocala, Governor Ron DeSantis spoke briefly on the topic of artificial intelligence, highlighting potential pitfalls and questioning whether society should subsidize something that could eliminate jobs and cause more problems than it solves.
The governor made the comments during the 2025 Florida Rural Economic Development Summit in Ocala on Thursday.
“You hear we’re having this debate about artificial intelligence and the rise of this and everything like that. And don’t let anyone tell you whoever is saying how great it’s going to be, there’s going to be big pitfalls too. I mean at best, right?” said Gov. DeSantis. He offered a brief example of his family’s own experience with AI, saying his wife had used tools to write songs about their children.
“My kids, when she started doing that, after a couple times they’re just like ‘mommy, we don’t like AI songs,'” said Gov. DeSantis. “We like real songs. It’s just funny to see how people respond to some of this stuff.”
The governor also offered another brief example of his difficulty in trying to get accurate information from AI, citing his experience trying to find out how he would watch a Tampa Bay Buccaneers broadcast.
Gov. DeSantis went on to state that he viewed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the job market as potentially problematic, stating he believes that as AI advances, it could “really undercut a lot of jobs, a lot of white-collar jobs.”
“I don’t think that’s a good thing. There’s some people that think it is. I don’t. It’s one of the reasons that I don’t think we should be subsidizing it. Why would we subsidize something that could potentially cause problems for folks?” said Gov. DeSantis. He indicated that his approach to this type of technology is to emphasize the importance of “concrete vocational skills” and to continue building the state’s manufacturing base.
He asserted that while technology may help workers be more productive, it will not be able to fully replace them.
“You know what’s going to be even more necessary are people that have these concrete vocational skills…Some of the technology may help workers be more productive, but they’re not going to be able to fully replace [vocational skills],” said Gov. DeSantis. “I just think we have an opportunity to continue to build our manufacturing base.”
Since Gov. DeSantis took office, he claims the state has added “tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs” and that his administration has improved the state’s vocational education offerings. He went on to cite reports from news outlets that rank Florida as having the best economy.
In the past two years, the Florida legislature has passed or discussed several bills related to artificial intelligence. That includes a former bill that would have prohibited governmental agencies or specified contractors from using or contracting with any other entities to use “artificial intelligence to detect concealed firearms in public places.” That bill died in the Florida Senate after it was passed through the Florida House of Representatives.