THU AM News: AI task force issues action plan, holds final meeting; UWM expert discusses AI during study committee

July 25, 2024

— The Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence has issued its final action plan, covering a wide array of policy proposals across education, government, workforce and economic development.

The task force held its final meeting at Madison College this week, wrapping up efforts that began with its first meeting in October 2023. Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek said its recommendations will be used in preparing the next biennial state budget.

“In addition to the governor’s budget, ideas for specific investments and policy proposals may move forward via requests from individual agencies as well,” she said.

Within the education section of the report, the task force is recommending: new investments in AI research at the Universities of Wisconsin; integrating AI into curriculum development; supporting faculty recruitment and retention in AI fields at UW schools and in the Wisconsin Technical College System; offering new “stackable” credentials in AI that build on prior learning, and more.

UW President Jay Rothman said the state’s higher education institutions are committed to preparing students for jobs and roles that don’t yet exist, telling the task force “our willingness to adapt strategically to what the future may bring” will be crucial.

“These AI technologies might include automated processes or chatbots designed to act as virtual academic advisors, a system to notify automatically and prompt students to complete an assignment or to seek additional help,” Rothman said, adding “we are not far off from the day that tutoring will be available through AI.”

The task force recommends efforts to modernize state government infrastructure with AI, as well as considering its deployment for energy management, traffic control and wastewater treatment. It also suggests the creation of a unit within the Department of Administration to create an “enterprise-wide data governance framework” to ensure proper use of data, particularly in AI applications.

On the workforce development side, recommendations include: expanding apprenticeship programs to incorporate AI; providing training to workers displaced by AI adoption; funding employer-led AI training programs for their workers; creating an AI “layoff aversion program” and an AI workforce talent pipeline; launching a digital literacy campaign and more.

Economic development policy proposals in the report include offering help to small businesses looking to use AI, creating “AI Innovation Hubs” for startups using the technology in manufacturing and agriculture, and holding forums to lay out an “AI roadmap” for companies in the state.

— DWD has created a list of occupations with high levels of “AI exposure,” meaning there’s significant overlap between what AI can accomplish and what people in those jobs are doing.

The highest level of exposure is seen in bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks — of which there are about 33,000 in the state — and data entry keyers, with about 3,000 workers in this category. Other top occupations for this measure include credit analysts, insurance claim and policy processing clerks, actuaries, computer network architects, statisticians and computer programmers.

DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters told task force members that AI is “going to be a game-changer” across all occupations.

“So yes, this is a new world we’re looking at,” he said during the task force meeting.

— The co-founder of UW-Milwaukee’s Disruptive Technologies Lab told state lawmakers any AI legislation should be paired with data privacy measures to ensure the ethical use of the technology.

Matthew Friedel is a senior lecturer at UWM as well as an angel investor and co-founder of Milwaukee Venture Partners. He addressed members of the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin yesterday during the group’s first meeting at Waukesha County Technical College.

He argued data privacy is “so important” in discussions of artificial intelligence, noting it’s increasingly being used for facial recognition, creating images and video and more.

“I think that has to be coupled together … that’s a critical, critical component,” he said.

The study committee is tasked with reviewing current applications of AI and making recommendations for its use and development, involving both lawmakers and industry representatives. Committee Chair Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, said he hopes the group’s work will lay the foundation for future legislative efforts around AI.

He also acknowledged the fast-moving nature of the technology, noting “by the time we come up with something in December, the world will have changed already on AI. Things are going to continue to change, because that’s how technology works.”

Rep. David Armstrong, R-Rice Lake, is the committee’s vice chair and a board member for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. He said the board at its latest meeting committed to efforts to bring more AI businesses into the state.

Committee member Kathy Henrich, CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, yesterday raised the issue of which skills should be prioritized to prepare the state’s workforce for more widespread adoption of AI.

“I think oftentimes we feel like on the workforce, we’re trying to predict the future, right? What skills are going to be needed,” she said, adding she hopes to avoid a “disruption in the workforce.”

Friedel said he’s hearing that businesses are struggling with “the upskilling or reskilling” related to AI, and don’t want to be left behind. He referenced the university’s TechEd Frontiers initiative, which offers online courses for in-demand jobs, and also mentioned Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual’s efforts to train their employees in AI applications.

“That’s going to be a challenge, and I think educational institutions need to be adaptive in order to do that,” he said.

Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, questioned if aspects of K-12 curriculum should be adjusted to better prepare students for postsecondary education focused on AI. In response, Friedel argued graduates will need both hard skills in technology as well as non-technical “soft skills,” such as interpersonal communication. Even as AI becomes more prevalent, he noted “not all jobs are going to be coding-related.”

See a staff brief prepared for the committee by the Wisconsin Legislative Council.

— Wisconsin sales tax revenues are slowing down as the effects of a post-pandemic economic boost dwindle, according to preliminary data in a new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The report notes it’s “too early for great concern,” but advises sales tax revenues should be monitored closely due to their impact on county elected officials and the city of Milwaukee, as well as state lawmakers as they prepare for the budgeting process.

Over the first five months of 2024, businesses reported $2.73 billion in state sales taxes, a 0.4% bump compared to the $2.72 billion first five months of 2023, according to the report. That is the lowest increase for the period since at least 2016, excluding 2020. The report attributes the lag in part to lessening inflation on durable goods.

In January, March and May this year, the state reported less revenue from the 5% sales tax than over the same stretch in 2023, the first months without a year-over-year boost since February 2021.

The retail sector, which contributes the largest amount to tax revenues, saw a 0.6% increase, accounting for the vast majority of sales tax revenue growth in the state, according to the report. Growth has been lower than 2023 levels. Retail sales tax revenues were more than 3% higher than the previous year for only three months in 2023.

Meanwhile, sales tax revenues in the transportation and warehousing sector saw a 22.9% boost, which the report says is likely due to a rise in food delivery services, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash.

The analysis also weighs the impact of legislation Gov. Tony Evers signed allowing Milwaukee County to increase its sales tax from 0.5% to 0.9% and enabling the city of Milwaukee to levy a 2% sales tax. The impact of the taxes didn’t show up in sales tax data until March of this year.

The report states taxable sales in Milwaukee County seem to be going down, noting if the 0.9% rate had been in effect last year, sales tax revenues for March to June last year would have been $58.1 million, leading to a 7.2% decrease in 2024.

In the city of Milwaukee, businesses reported $63.9 million in city sales tax revenues. The city would need to generate about $15 million in sales tax revenues for each month through February 2025 to meet the $184 million it budgeted for fiscal year 2024.

— Wisconsin had a record-high $2.4 billion in committed capital investments linked to WEDC assistance in fiscal year 2024, Gov. Tony Evers announced.

That’s the highest annual planned capital investment total since the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. was created in 2011, and exceeds the previous record of $1.8 billion from fiscal year 2019.

The announcement highlights Kikkoman Foods’ $800 million expansion of its operations in Walworth and new manufacturing facility in Jefferson, A.Y. McDonald’s $340 million expansion of its Kieler facilities and new foundry in Dickeyville, Fujifilm Cellular Dynamic’s $140 million expansion of its Madison presence and more projects.

WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes touts the state’s “record investments” in communities, workers and innovation.

“I’ve been saying recently that Wisconsin is having a moment—as the world focuses on the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, the Wisconsin season of Top Chef, and other exciting events we’re attracting to our state,” she said in the release. “But the reality is, we’re not having a moment. We have momentum.”

— State officials have announced $50 million for 37 rural road projects across 28 counties, aimed at supporting Wisconsin’s agricultural industries.

This is the first round of funding from the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program, created last year under 2023 Wisconsin Act 13. The 2023-25 biennial budget included $150 million for the program, according to a release from Gov. Tony Evers.

“This stuff is as simple as making sure a farmer doesn’t have to drive 20 miles out of the way to avoid an aging road with weight limits—we can help fix that, and that’s what this program is all about,” Evers said in a statement.

See the release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has rolled out a bill to cap prescription drug costs in the private health insurance market.

The Madison Dem yesterday announced the legislation, which would extend a cap on out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare from the Inflation Reduction Act into commercial health care. The IRA prescription drug cap will take effect in 2025, according to Baldwin’s release.

Under the Capping Prescription Costs Act, the $2,000 cap on cost-sharing for individuals and $4,000 cap for families would apply to all 173 million Americans under age 65 with private health insurance.

In Wisconsin, it would apply to more than 3.3 million people, the release shows. State residents spent an estimated $1.3 billion on prescription drugs in 2019.

Baldwin’s release highlights concerns about high prescription drug costs for U.S. residents, noting the same medications often cost more in the United States than in other countries.

“While we’ve made great progress cutting costs for Wisconsin Seniors with the Inflation Reduction Act, every American should be protected from big drug companies’ price practices,” Baldwin said in a statement. “Our legislation will lower expenses for Wisconsinites across the state and ensure that more families can get the medication they need at a price they can afford.”

See the release.

— Madison has been ranked No. 5 among the 100 largest U.S. cities for community fitness by the American College of Sports Medicine.

The ACSM American Fitness Index ranked these cities on more than 30 variables, ranging from exercise rates and healthy eating to prevalence of health problems and environmental quality.

Madison’s ranking reflects high rates of physical activity, with 58.7% meeting aerobic activity guidelines and 84.7% exercising in the previous month. The report shows 55.1% of residents are in “excellent or very good health,” though 29.7% are obese.

Out of all ranked cities, Madison had the best rating for one measure: the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents, with 6.7.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee was ranked No. 36 on the list. It has more recreational centers and swimming pools by population than Madison, but generally had worse ratings for other metrics in the report.

Report authors say this year’s index identified food insecurity, mental health services and community fitness assets as “critical factors” for overall fitness that need improvement.

“Nationally, we saw notable improvements in public transportation and biking/walking to work and park expenditures, denoting individuals who are more inclined to stay active and have better access to the resources to do so,” they wrote.

See the report.

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