Ohio business leaders warn: Adopt AI or fall behind
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Amid a global artificial intelligence race, Columbus investors and business leaders are urging each other to go all-in on AI before it's too late.
Why it matters: AI is reshaping Ohio's public schools, universities, law enforcement and more, and Central Ohio's business community is likewise putting AI at the forefront of its plans.
Driving the news: Last week's ED411 conference brought together investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and community officials to discuss the region's future.
- A key theme of the conference: Embrace AI now or be left behind.
The most popular keynote of the day was led by Mark Kvamme, co-founder of The O.H.I.O. Fund and Drive Capital, who conveyed a sense of urgency about AI and described the paradigm shift he believes is happening.
What they're saying: "I have no idea where this world is going to go. In the next five years, we will not recognize the world we live in," he told attendees.
- "AI is impacting everything, and great wealth is being created."
Case in point: Kvamme was joined on stage by Chad Delligatti, CEO of InnoSource, and Peter Coratola, president and CEO of EASE Logistics, both of whom relayed the massive efficiencies they've created for their Dublin-based businesses thanks to AI.
- Delligatti said AI has helped his recruiters halve the time it takes to process the "sea of résumés" received for in-demand jobs.
- And EASE's account representatives once took 15 minutes to provide a quote that now takes 30 seconds with the help of AI, Coratola said.
Threat level: "If you do not do this, your competition is doing this," Kvamme said. "And we'll put you out of business."
What we're watching: Kvamme tells Axios he "can't think of an industry" that won't be affected by AI and its growth.
- "If they don't start adopting and understanding how AI can benefit their businesses today, I fundamentally believe you will be out of business in five years. Everybody."
The big picture: The future of Ohio and its business community will be shaped by the success of efforts to chase down "trillion-dollar market opportunities," JobsOhio president and CEO J.P. Nauseef told the conference.
- Such opportunities "are in the supersectors — semiconductors and microelectronics, advanced aerospace and defense, life sciences and biotech, artificial intelligence and energy leadership."
Flashback: Kvamme is inspired by Ohio's role in the industrial boom of the early 20th century, when the state was one of the country's most important manufacturing centers and economic drivers.
What's next: He wants the state to combine that history with a forward-looking view on AI to capitalize on the moment.
- "We're not going to invent the [large language models] here, we don't have the engineering resources," he tells Axios.
- "But I like to say that Ohio's going to be the place where we create AI applied intelligence, because we're a state that makes things."