Balancing speed and risk when utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) focus of Kentucky Chamber conference

“AI is here and in everything we are doing.”

Jamia McDonald, principal at conference sponsor Deloitte Consulting LLP, helped kick off the Kentucky Chamber’s inaugural Kentucky AI Summit noting artificial intelligence is shaping industries, economies, and societies “in ways we could have only imagined.”

During the frenzied period of advancement in this space, McDonald noted businesses are under tremendous pressure to safely harness the capabilities AI presents and make sure it serves their audiences. Many business leaders report they are excited about AI, but still uncertain as data shows it will drive substantial transformation over the next three years.

McDonald said exploring the risks and ethics as everyone scales up their use of these technologies is essential, which is why she said the Kentucky AI Summit is crucial.

“At the end of the day, it offers so much promise and Kentucky can continue to lead,” she said.

AI 101

How AI is handled from a regulation standpoint without hindering innovation is the huge question facing the United States and others in this race.

AI will add $18 trillion to the global GDP by 2030, Tom Quaadman, executive vice president of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the audience. He added that is the size of China’s economy in 2018.

But AI isn’t as new as many think, Quaadman noted as he pointed to technology like Siri that has been around a long time and is just a different kind of artificial intelligence than what we have been seeing with ChatGPT and others. The types he laid out include generative AI, Narrow AI, machine learning, and deep learning.

One of the areas Quaadman pointed to with some of the most advancement was health care, sharing that cardiologists are saving many hours looking at and reading charts. Also, AI is being used to make devices to help with things like cardiovascular disease, but they aren’t able to use them because they have to be approved through regulation.

When asked about safety concerns around the use of AI in these different sectors, Quaadman said “most of you aren’t concerned about the use of autopilot on planes, right?” He emphasized these types of things are part of industry standards that would be implemented in other sectors, but he also said the United States has to look at what workforce needs we will have to make sure this is done properly.

As for the regulation and approval, the U.S. Chamber believes it is crucial that there is not a patchwork of laws around AI like what has started to happen with data privacy where states have started to pass differing laws on the matter. Quaadman said it is important that the federal government drive the policy on artificial intelligence. He added that the U.S. Chamber has launched a commission headed up by former members of Congress with representation from many areas to meet with stakeholders and come up with very specific recommendations around workforce, national security, and more.

AI Within the Workforce

AI has been with us since the 1950s but is in the spotlight now. McDonald, who moderated a panel of experts about the use of AI in the workforce asked why that is.

Google Cloud Government Technology Lead Mark Costin suggested it is because of accessibility since we all now have access to these technologies. He noted the uses he sees even within his own family including his sister using it as a small business owner for recipes at her bakery and more.

”You don’t have to be an engineer to understand these tools anymore. It really does give people superpowers, especially at small businesses,” Costin said.

The idea of it giving superpowers within the workplace was first mentioned on the panel by Ben Reno-Weber, deputy director at the University of Louisville’s Health Equity Innovation Hub and a member of Louisville Metro Council. He said one of the cool utilizations he has seen is the way people are dealing with documentation, which he said can be a barrier in many ways because some don’t feel confident in their abilities and it requires a lot of time. He used the example of the head of a homeless shelter that can put what they need into generative AI, which can articulate the content quickly. “It can be a great equalizer,” he said.

Dr. Trey Conatser, Director at the University of Kentucky’s Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching noted some in the workforce are being secretive about their use of AI because they don’t want to seem like they have lost their expertise and some feel there is a question of ethics when using it in their work. To address this, Conatser said one of the actions to take within organizations to get in front of it is to have open conversations about the values that drive the work of the business and how that can translate to finding better processes and other areas within the company’s work.

Many of the panelists emphasized the improvements businesses will see in terms of the utilization and gift of time, noting AI can help employees be more efficient, which can help them concentrate on other things. They also emphasized that there will always be a need for human oversight at all levels within an organization and that there will still be a need for people in all positions where the individual has expertise.

Emerging AI Policy in Kentucky

Especially with how open generative AI is currently, and especially with recent headlines about deep fakes of celebrities, in political campaigns, and much more, legislation is the next big question facing the industry.

Kentucky is no different than other states looking at how to tackle that landscape. Two lawmakers working on AI legislation, Kentucky state Representatives Josh Bray and Josh Branscum, talked about what the General Assembly is looking at with moderator Jordan Harris, client relationship executive at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Branscum said especially with something so quickly evolving, there is a tendency to rush to get ahead of this. He stated Kentucky is a little behind on this topic but it’s important as legislators to reach out to industry experts including the people in the room at the Summit to get data to make more informed decisions and be thoughtful in their approach.

Lawmakers in Kentucky feel increased pressure to tackle this issue, Bray said, because there has not been any legislation coming down from the federal government. But he emphasized it is not good to have a patchwork of laws on these issues that put us further behind.

The lawmakers talked about the ways it could impact state government’s workforce by improving efficiency. Bray gave the example of the struggle to keep up with unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic and said AI could have been used to check on claims and deal with the backlog and also pointed to other examples that could make better use of government resources and make services more efficient for taxpayers.

While there are several pieces of legislation floating around in the Kentucky General Assembly, they emphasized the need for a commonsense solution from the federal government to capitalize on the incredible opportunity to grow the nation’s economy.

In addition, Branscum and Bray filed legislation to form a task force to bring in the right people and experts before they pass regulation to avoid unintended consequences. Branscum noted at least 12 other states have formed similar task forces.

Both lawmakers spoke with The Bottom Line about other policies moving through the legislature, deep fakes and the use of AI in elections, and more. Check back in the coming weeks to watch those interviews.

What’s Next

As part of the conference, attendees also had the ability to visit stations to see different AI demonstrations including an application assistant, a case timeline solution, an intake assistant summarizing key information from transcripts, a mock interview engine, an engine that analyzes policy manuals and system documents, and AI that can help generate job descriptions and resumes. Additionally, there were demonstrations of tools that empower leaders to improve health outcomes, create digital realities that can simulate, train, detect, and respond to real-world challenges, and a system from Deloitte that can help clients monitor for fraud, waste, and abuse.

Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts closed the Summit by noting AI is a driver for progress and is at the forefront of unlocking the power for growth and that the Chamber will continue working with industry experts and lawmakers to ensure the best implantation for Kentucky.