Cincinnati positioned to drive artificial intelligence revolution

With the Cincinnati Innovation District at the forefront, the city of Cincinnati is well positioned to drive the artificial intelligence revolution that has the power to transform the entire economy.

The Cincinnati Enquirer published an op-ed by David J. Adams, the executive director of the Cincinnati Innovation District and chief innovation officer at the University of Cincinnati, about how Cincinnati has the adaptability required to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world.

“A newly released Brookings Institution study on which cities will drive the AI revolution posits that while the traditional innovation areas like Silicon Valley and Boston remain dominant, there is a real argument to be made that the kind of intentional talent hub we have created with the Cincinnati Innovation District (CID), powered by the University of Cincinnati, can nudge the geography, and therefore, the economic implications, in more balanced ways,” Adams wrote.

“Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have stated their intent to make Ohio the most innovative and entrepreneurial state in the Midwest, and here in Cincinnati, we are fast becoming the place where talent and ideas spark creative collisions. Using the collaborative space inside the CID’s nerve center, the 1819 Innovation Hub, companies from start-ups to Fortune 500s are turning ideas into groundbreaking innovations every day.”

In Cincinnati, the focus is on the primary challenge industry faces: the need for talent.
“In a world of increasing change and instability, the CID is harnessing positive and productive change by combining a global perspective with new technological strategies using our greatest resource — talent,” Adams wrote.

Talent is mobile and has choices, Adams wrote, so Cincinnati must continue to focus on growing, attracting and retaining that talent. By creating opportunities, even at a very early stage, the region is filling the pipeline needed to meet the needs of the corporate community.

“What Cincinnati does better than most is connect this digitally fluent talent pipeline to the diverse industries that call our city their home,” Adams wrote. “Through the research institutions that comprise the CID, including the University of Cincinnati, a Carnegie level I research institution, the city is producing thinkers, creators, and innovators with the ability to constantly adjust to the ever changing technology.”

Read Adams’ op-ed on Cincinnati.com.