Randy P. Sparkman
Exploring the generative AI last mile with the people who will make it work.
I help organizations close the generative AI last mile. That's the gap between what the technology can do and what people actually do with it.
My work focuses on durable AI adoption in workplaces, schools, government, and non-profits: helping leaders and practitioners move beyond demonstrations, experiments, and one-off use cases toward practical capability.
That work draws on forty years in enterprise technology, including a long career at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, years of public education leadership, my 2024 book Language AI: A Guide for Humans, and direct engagement with organizations working to put AI to use.
I currently chair the Education Committee of the Huntsville, Alabama Mayor's regional AI Task Force, where I work with schools, workforce leaders, and community organizations on AI literacy, readiness, and adoption. I also developed WorkPath, a workplace AI readiness assessment designed to help individuals and organizations ground their AI discussions in the real work people do.
There is real opportunity in these systems: for individuals, institutions, and communities. But that opportunity does not arrive automatically. It has to be understood, shaped, governed, taught, and put to work.
That is the last mile.
Writing
Book
A non-technical primer on generative AI as a thought partner — written for readers who want to understand what the technology actually does, what it doesn't, and how to think about its place in their work.
Speaking
-
Alabama State Department of Education Technology Conference
-
Alabama Legislature Commission on AI and Child Safety
-
Alabama Summit on Talent Retention and Workforce Learning
-
Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS) Law Conference
-
Alabama STEM Foundation Summit for STEM Education and Workforce
Interviews
Work
-
WorkPath
A workplace AI readiness assessment measuring orientation, integration, and judgment across a fifteen-scenario adaptive format. For individuals, organizations, and workforce developers.
-
Alabama Digital Literacy & Computer Science Standards — Lesson Plan Tool
A free tool for Alabama K-12 educators aligning lesson plans to the state's DLCS standards.
-
NotebookLM Collection — Alabama K-12 AI Policies
A working reference of district-level AI policy across Alabama.