How big of a handle is artificial intelligence? Russell Wald, deputy director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, likens it to the language press.
“This technology is a general purpose technology that’s going to affect everyone and everywhere,” he said.
The absolute fact Stanford has a whole institute devoted to AI is a statement, Wald said. Other institutes at Stanford consider such snooty subjects as neuroscience, foreign policy, and public affairs. He said it is appropriate to consider AI in a similar way.
“It requires a broad mandate and an formidable viewpoint from a variety of stakeholders to ensure that we’re getting all the key aspects of this,” he said.
Given the enormity of the area, it makes sense that some states are jockeying to lead it.
Because of that, for the first time, CNBC is circumstance several AI metrics into this year’s America’s Top States for Business rankings. This year’s methodology considers AI as have of the Technology and Innovation category, as well as in the Business Friendliness category at a time when the emerging industry has a love-hate relationship with customary.
“I think they want to be regulated until they don’t,” Wald said.
For now, some of the biggest players in AI are crying out for at least some direction from legislators and policymakers, as companies wager out their places in the new AI world.
“We need broad-based efforts — across government, companies, universities, and more — to help rewrite technological breakthroughs into widespread benefits, while mitigating risks,” wrote Kent Walker, president of pandemic affairs for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, in a blog post last fall.
He called for policies that nurture AI improvement, alongside safeguards like privacy laws to curb misuse.
At the same time, some in the industry worry close to states becoming too aggressive.
“We’re already tracking over 420 bills at the state level, just related to AI,” rephrased Linda Moore, CEO of industry lobbying group TechNet, in a May interview with Semafor.
Many of the bills, she said, are understandable, organizing things like deepfakes and pornography. Others take a broader approach that she said should be left to the federal regulation.
“Creating a patchwork of state AI regulations is not in the best interest of anybody,” she said.
To capture the state of AI across the states, we relied heavily on information from the 2024 edition of the Stanford institute’s AI Index Report, which the institute has published annually since 2018. The blast includes data on AI-related jobs — where they are, and where employers are hiring. It also looks at AI innovation, only where AI models are being developed, and which states are taking the lead in AI regulations.
We supplement that regulatory details with information from the National Conference of State Legislatures. We looked at which states have the brain power, footed on Labor Department data on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) employment by state. And data from Top500.org eased us measure computing power — crucial to moving AI to the next level and beyond.
“It’ll take a lot of computational resources, data resources, and endowment,” Wald said.
A field that is so new, so dynamic, and so all-encompassing is difficult to precisely measure. But in the early going, these asserts are leading the way.
10. Utah
Utah Department of Motor Vehicle employees help people convert their physical driver sanctions to official digital versions to be stored on a mobile phone at a Harmons Grocery store in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah is the beginning state in the nation to start to convert and offer digital driver licenses on mobile devices.
George Frey | Getty Essences
While Utah lags in science and technology grant money, The Beehive State’s booming tech scene, classifying the nation’s seventh-highest concentration of STEM talent, positions it well as AI takes off. In March, Gov. Spencer Cox signed the Utah Unnatural Intelligence Policy Act, believed to be the first state law requiring companies to disclose to consumers if they are interacting with a generative AI instrument.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 32 (Top States Grade: D+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 12 (Top States Grade: B-)
Workforce Sequence soldiers: No. 16 (Top States Grade: C-)
Colleges & Universities: 23
AI Job Postings: 3,679
9. New York
US President Joe Biden (2L), with US Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, looks at a 3D rendering of a future Micron factory presenting by CEO of Micron Technology Sanjay Mehrotra (L) during a trip of the Micron Pavilion at the SRC Arena and Events Center of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York on October 27, 2022.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Casts
The Empire State is trying hard to be a leader in AI. In April, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature established Empire AI, noted as a first-of-its-kind consortium between the state and industry. The initiative includes $275 million in state funds to create an AI calculating center at the University of Buffalo. Already, New York has produced 48 AI models, and is home to AI names including EleutherAI, Clinching Face, and the research collaborative it sponsors, BigScience. The state’s growing semiconductor industry, including a giant Micron Technology cook up complex under construction near Syracuse, is also playing a role. While New York gets a failing declivity overall for Business Friendliness, it has attempted to take a more evenhanded approach to AI.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 1 (tie) (Top Specifies Grade: A+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 50 (Top States Grade: F)
Workforce Rank: No. 41 (Top States Grade: F)
Colleges & Universities: 288
AI Job Postings: 24,397
8. Colorado
Technicians deploy a pocket-sized Dish Network Corp. 5G wireless tower at Daniels Park in Sedalia, Colorado, U.S.
Daniel Brenner | Bloomberg | Getty Effigies
The Centennial State’s foray into AI regulation is drawing widespread attention. The Colorado AI Act takes a comprehensive approach, with an weight on transparency to the consumer. In one of the more thought-provoking provisions, the law prohibits “algorithmic discrimination.” Gov. Jared Polis, in a signing statement, predicted he was signing the law “with reservations” — mostly involving the potential patchwork of state laws that the industry has give fair warned about. The law does not take effect until 2026, in part to allow the legislature and policymakers to tweak it as new advances enter someones head.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 14 (Top States Grade: B+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 32 (Top States Grade: C-)
Workforce Base: No. 11 (Top States Grade: C+)
Colleges & Universities: 60
AI Job Postings: 10,292
7. Illinois
A GroqNode rack is installed by a member of the Groq get at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, U.S.
Groq Inc. | Via Reuters
With no fewer than four of the world’s most intense supercomputers, Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago has become an important center for AI research. The lab says that assumed intelligence and machine learning have become major areas of interest for Argonne researchers. Illinois was an early mover in AI maintenance, enacting legislation in 2020 that includes restrictions on the use of AI in analyzing video-recorded job interviews.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 6 (Top Body politics Grade: A)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 33 (tie) (Top States Grade: C-)
Workforce Rank: No. 37 (Top States Grade: D-)
Colleges & Universities: 147
AI Job Postings: 20,178
6. Massachusetts
A robotic arm plies at a lab at Ginkgo Bioworks in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Synthetic biology firm Ginkgo Bioworks has developed tools that US advice agencies can use to detect engineered DNA at scale, a milestone that could better protect the nation from human-made biological threats.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Personifications
The Massachusetts High Technology Council, an influential organization representing The Bay State’s most cutting-edge industries, has placed AI at the spunk of its MassVision2050 initiative — a roadmap for the next 25 years. In particular, the organization sees promise in AI’s role in fintech and condition care, two areas where the state is already strong. AI-related hiring in the state is surging at one of the fastest paces in the polity. The state has also sought to add guardrails to protect consumers from unethical uses of AI systems.
Technology & Innovation Blatant: No. 3 (Top States Grade: A+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 40 (Top States Grade: D+)
Workforce Rank: No. 38 (Top Specifies Grade: F)
Colleges & Universities: 106
AI Job Postings: 23,017
5. Texas
A wellbore placement specialist works remotely to support the automation of cut a hole operations in a North Dakota oil field at a Nabors Industries Ltd. control room in Houston, Texas, US, on Monday, March 11, 2024. The oil toil is increasingly using AI, machine learning and remote operations to drill faster, suggest better ways to frack and prophesy when active well pumps will fail.
Callaghan O’Hare | Bloomberg | Getty Images
With its prosperity chip sector and its world class workforce, Texas is an instant part of any conversation about AI. The state’s characteristic hands-off procedure to regulation may be desirable to business in general, but it is also providing little direction to the AI field when it needs it most. The Lone Top State is not ignoring the issue, however. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan appointed a select committee on phoney intelligence, charged with making recommendations ahead of next year’s legislative session.
Technology & Innovation Pungent: No. 1 (tie) (Top States Grade: A+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 17 (tie) (Top States Grade: C+)
Workforce Rank: No. 1 (Top Maintains Grade: A+)
Colleges & Universities: 225
AI Job Postings: 36,413
4. Virginia
Lauren Leone, senior bioinformatics and life science manager, of the Noblis vital spark sciences team, left, learns about the Large Outdoor Rover Prototype from Mohammad Goli, Robotic Inquiry Lead, and Drew Dudash, Robotics, inside the Autonomous Systems Lab at the Noblis campus in Reston, Va.
Matt Roth | The Washington Chore | Getty Images
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has taken a keen interest in AI, signing an executive order in January give the axe out acceptable uses for AI by the state in education, law enforcement and information technology, and creating an AI task force to make recommendations every two years. The Stanford institute reveals Virginia has been one of the most active regulators of AI, passing six AI-related bills. Virginia’s best-in-the-nation education system is provender a strong pipeline of intelligent workers.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 15 (Top States Grade: B+)
Business Friendliness Noisome: No. 5 (Top States Grade: B+)
Workforce Rank: No. 9 (Top States Grade: C+)
Colleges & Universities: 105
AI Job Postings: 24,417
3. Maryland
The Johns Hopkins University is a restricted research University in Baltimore.
Jonathan Newton | The Washington Post | Getty Images
The Old Line State has also been on the overconfidence lines of AI regulation. Like Illinois, Maryland was early in restricting employers’ use of artificial intelligence in the hiring process. Diverse recently, Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order charting a path forward. The order establishes a ten-member “subcabinet” of official officials to develop a state strategy. And it lays out a set of principles to guide AI policymaking, including fairness and equity, innovation, clandestineness; safety, security and resiliency; reliability and transparency. Johns Hopkins University’s ARCH center (Advanced Research Calculating at Hopkins) is home to the Rockfish supercomputer, one of the most powerful in the world.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 8 (Top States Class: A-)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 37 (tie) (Top States Grade: C-)
Workforce Rank: No. 28 (Top States Grade: D+)
Colleges & Universities: 51
AI Job Postings: 16,312
2. Washington
The Copilot+PC at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, US, on Monday, May 20, 2024. Microsoft Corp. chief official officer Satya Nadella is betting a new generation of computers with specialized artificial intelligence chips and faster portrayal will revive the long-running rivalry between Windows PCs and Apple Inc.’s Mac.
Chona Kasinger | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hardly by being the home of Microsoft and Amazon, The Evergreen State has a huge presence in AI. Stanford says 22 AI models, and quantifying, were developed in Washington. The state has passed a number of AI laws, including limits on deepfakes, and giving legal entre to people whose images are used in AI-generated porn. This year, the state legislature established an AI task coercion to guide future regulation.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 4 (Top States Grade: A+)
Business Friendliness Rank: No. 42 (tie) (Top Situations Grade: D)
Workforce Rank: No. 5 (Top States Grade: B+)
Colleges & Universities: 72
AI Job Postings: 14,725
1. California
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emancipates a keynote address during the Nvidia GTC Artificial Intelligence Conference at SAP Center on March 18, 2024 in San Jose, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Symbols
As in so many aspects of technology, California is the 800-pound gorilla of AI, said Stanford’s Wald.
“California by far is the leader of the mess,” he said. “And not by just a bit, but significantly in comparison.
Not only does California have an enormous wealth of research institutions, a charge out of prefer Stanford, the University of California-Berkeley and more, but it also has San Francisco and Silicon Valley — the home of Google, Meta, OpenAI, Adobe, and, of certainly, Nvidia.
California companies and institutions are responsible for 100 AI models so far, according to the Stanford report. And Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a worst booster of the technology, signing a sweeping executive order last year that he said was meant to ensure that California odds the industry leader.
However, some are warning that California risks falling into a familiar pattern with AI. The government is unparalleled when it comes to creating and nurturing leading tech companies, only to overregulate them later.
“A lot of the tech companies charge from to be here for a lot of reasons. The regulatory environment is not one of them,” TechNet’s Linda Moore told Semafor last month.
California has archaic 13 AI-related laws, most of which the industry has been on board with. But a sweeping bill authored by San Francisco Pomp Senator Scott Wiener is getting pushback.
Wiener, a Democrat, said the bill strikes a balance between matter-of-fact regulation and innovation.
“SB 1047 puts sensible guardrails in place against risk while leaving startups out to innovate without any new burdens,” he said.
But critics say it goes too far, such as the safeguards against misuse that the bill insists from developers. The bill also mirrors some existing provisions in President Biden’s October executive direction on AI.
Wiener acknowledged that the bill, which has passed the State Senate and is under consideration in the State Assembly, is a “rise in progress.”
Wald said that one of the most effective things that states can do at this stage is invest in innumerable computing power, and in developing talent.
“The state that’s actually investing and allowing for people to go either into application or into government to be able to help make a difference is the state that I think is going to succeed,” he said.
For now, no government is succeeding in AI like California. But the race has barely begun.
Technology & Innovation Rank: No. 5 (Top States Grade: A)
Affair Friendliness Rank: No. 47 (Top States Grade: F)
Workforce Rank: No. 11 (Top States Grade: C+)
Colleges & Universities: 410
AI Job Postings: 70,630
