You don’t need to look far to see daily new developments and news around artificial intelligence, from ChatGPT to AI image generators.
Rhode Island has a timely opportunity to lead the next revolution: AI. This puts us at a crossroads – we can either embrace, adapt and lead, or get left behind. As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, we have a once-in-a-century chance to lead in advancements that will change how we operate.
But we must take action now. If we don’t? Our state economy will falter, jobs will be lost at an unhealthy rate, and businesses will fail. This urgent call to AI arms is not just about thriving, it’s about surviving. Here’s how we can do it.
Train our businesses on how to adopt AI. We must ensure all our businesses are equipped – from our small brick-and-mortar shops to large-scale employers – to learn, invest in and adopt AI in their operations. At a state level, we should expand current programs such as Skills for Rhode Island’s Future and R.I. Commerce Corp.’s Technical Assistance Program to include AI adoption.
Develop a workforce for the new AI economy. There’s no question that some jobs will get replaced by AI. Faster, cost-effective alternatives to time-consuming, mundane tasks will be embraced by many businesses. But there will be a wave of new jobs created by AI, such as prompt engineers, data managers, systems engineers, and application programming interface developers. Rhode Island should collaborate with our leaders in higher education and businesses in the AI industry to ensure our pipeline can support and meet future workforce needs.
Invest in startups and AI growth. Similar to how Rhode Island took the lead on impressive offshore wind energy, we can do the same for the AI industry. We should reimagine our I-195 land development through this lens and provide resources to bolster young talent and entrepreneurs at our local colleges and universities.
Advance our quality of life. Remote work accelerated during the pandemic, and this widely adopted work-life option has proven technology can help smaller cities such as Providence compete with bigger metro areas. We must continue to prioritize pathways to improve quality of life for working Rhode Islanders, and that includes integrating AI. Let’s keep investing in our infrastructure, reduce our tax burden, and revitalize our beautiful state to attract and retain talent.
I encourage you to stop what you’re doing and start learning more about AI. It doesn’t need to be intimidating, threatening, or confusing. Start with creating a free ChatGPT account and play around with its potential.
As co-founder and chair of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition, I’ve helped small businesses over the last three years pivot and adapt through the pandemic to survive. Now I am focused on making sure we don’t get left behind as AI forces landmark changes to business operations. This will impact education, health care, tourism and nearly every other industry.
Part of this support is providing free, accessible resources to our business community. I launched a new podcast to help businesses understand and adopt AI, and discuss the latest trends called AI Wave. I also encourage you to attend free events I’ll be hosting alongside other leaders in AI, such as an upcoming Venture Café Panel, “How to Use AI to Grow Your Business” on June 29 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Rhode Island, it’s time to act. AI is here. Our state leadership and business community must invest in the AI economy. Let’s make our state another historical revolution leader.
Chris Parisi is founder and president of Trailblaze Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency based in Providence. He is also co-founder and chair of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition and writes a weekly newsletter on artificial intelligence.
