Report: Utah among top states prepared to utilize AI technology
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Experts agree artificial intelligence is expanding across the country at almost light speed and a study found Utah is uniquely situated to take advantage of the new technology.
A report by the website Brainly ranked Utah third among the 50 states in preparedness for the AI adoption. It cited Utah's high number of businesses already using AI and the state's widespread access to high speed internet.
Manish Parashar, chief AI officer at the University of Utah, said the future is being built on AI.
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"It is transforming everything: science, education, business, medicine, society in general," Parashar outlined. "It's impacting every life. It can barely touch any technology that doesn't have AI in some form embedded into it."
The Brainly study examined each state's adoption of AI by businesses, universities and government, and if states are developing infrastructure that will allow AI to expand and thrive. It showed the number of jobs requiring AI expertise is increasing exponentially, predicting almost 20 percent of jobs will involve AI by 2033.
Utah ranked behind the District of Columbia and New Hampshire but was ahead of high-tech states like California, Massachusetts and Colorado. Parashar noted Utah's regulatory environment is particularly conducive to developing the technology.
"I think Utah is pretty unique across the country," Parashar observed. "It has this idea of regulatory sandboxes, where you can build the right regulation that's fit for use for the tool that I'm building."
State officials said Utah is on a deliberate path to develop a framework in which universities and businesses can take advantage of the benefits of AI, which involves putting common sense safeguards in place.
Governor Spencer Cox said leaders are trying to stay ahead of AI's development.
"What we’re focused on is the very practical impact of AI, and how it is being used in commercial applications that impact the residents of Utah," Cox emphasized. "This is just normal consumer protection."
