September Member Spotlight 2 - 7 Rivers Alliance

State of the Region Reception Recap

AI explored at 7 Rivers Alliance State of the Region meeting

By Tom Still

LA CROSSE, Wis. – As part of his presentation to a group organized by the multi-state 7 Rivers Alliance, Aaron Brossoit engaged in a conversation with a digital avatar of himself who spoke five languages and poked fun at the “real” Aaron for not being as debonair as the fake model.

It was an entertaining yet sobering reminder of the power of artificial intelligence. An avatar produced through generative AI can be used for marketing, customer service, teaching, or even remote speeches – or to trick unsuspecting people into spending time or money on something they otherwise would not.

“Frankly, I think I am better at speaking than the other guy,” Avatar Aaron said, touting his mistake-free record. He (it?) continued: “The real Aaron can barely manage with a little German” and went on to speak in German, Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin as well as English.

As chief executive officer of Golden Shovel Agency, Brossoit made the point that AI can improve regional competitiveness in western Wisconsin if companies and others use it for engagement with new markets and better service to existing markets.

“It will make it easier for companies to stay,” Brossoit said, and less tempting to leave – especially if used in productive ways.

“The same way AI empowers people with good intentions, it empowers people with bad intentions,” said Nate Melby of Dairyland Power Cooperative, who spoke at the same “State of the Region” conference at Western Wisconsin Technical College.

Unintended consequences can also affect entire industries such as health care, which is undergoing rapid change in areas such as the use of medical devices, pre-authorization of claims, patient diagnosis, and more.

Three panelists at the 7 Rivers conference in La Crosse said their organizations are integrating AI where it’s based on reliable data and when it makes sense for patients and overall efficiency.

Dr. Rajeev Chaudhry is the medical director of AI and Informatics at the Mayo Clinic Health System; Dr. Praveen Chopra is the chief digital and medical information officer for Emplify Health; and David Hartberg is president of Vernon Memorial Hospital and the former chairman of the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

If properly managed, they agreed, AI can improve medical decisions and control costs. However, as they also noted, the role of healthcare payers – most often health insurance companies – can have unintended consequences.

A congressional investigation found the nation’s three largest Medicare Advantage insurers had increasingly refused to pay for rehabilitative care for seniors in the years after adopting sophisticated technologies to aid in their coverage decisions.

United Health Group, Humana, and CVS Health targeted denials among older adults who were requesting care in nursing homes, inpatient rehab hospitals, and long-term hospitals, according to a U.S. Senate report. As of 2022, those three insurers were turning down roughly a quarter of all requests for post-acute care among their Medicare Advantage enrollees, the report said.

In other industries, such as Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture, AI and machine learning are being used in processes as varied as precision manufacturing, safety, energy management, and more, conference attendees were told. Other conference topics covered AI’s emerging effect on small business, education, and ethics.

Conference attendees also heard from Craig Dickman, managing director at Green Bay-based Titletown Tech, which is working with Microsoft and others on AI and machine learning strategies – especially in manufacturing – that can support existing businesses, develop new ones and foster more opportunities for Wisconsin workers.

The more AI is utilized, the more possibilities are imagined – and the more people see the need for guardrails and related policies. The two goals will and should continue to work together.

Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He can be reached at news@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.

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