Braving a new world with a forward focus

Organized by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the conference brings together state, education and industry leaders to look to the future.

This year’s focus was on AI and its many potential uses. Guest speakers, including keynote speaker Kimberley Williams, director of strategic engagement and innovation for Amazon Web Services, discussed the pros and cons.

She pointed out that it’s estimated that 80% of current jobs will be impacted by generative AI in one way or another.

“That’s both good news and bad news,” she said. “Generative AI will increase productivity. A lot of people view that as just the negative. ‘Oh, it will take my job.’ But the reality of it is, it’s also creating jobs.”

She said in six short years since AI was a topic at the first Focus Forward event, there has been increased development of the technology and its use.

“The emergence of consumer-facing generative AI in late 2022 and then throughout 2023 — that has radically shifted the public conversation around the potential of AI,” she said. “It has democratized the ability to use AI, and it has certainly made every sector of the economy look and say, ‘What does this mean for me?’”

Also presenting were U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who both touched on some of the concerns that have lawmakers talking about AI regulations.

“We found through the mistakes that were made that we never put guardrails up that would protect society as a whole. Anything and everything could get on there, and there was no filter,” Sen. Manchin said. “So we’re trying to prevent making that same mistake with artificial intelligence.”

Still, despite the concerns, AI has the potential to shape and change countless economic sectors and industries for the better, Manchin said.

“We know with AI all the good it can do,” he said. “Health care, quality of life, food production, the defense of our country and our energy supply. But if it’s in the wrong hands for the wrong purpose, it can lead you into things that can be just as destructive as they are for the improvements it can make.”

Giving leaders a platform to discuss changes like AI and other emerging technology — and how it can be used to better the lives of West Virginians — is what the founders of Focus Forward had in mind when they first started the program. And they are thrilled to see participation continue to grow.

“This is part of a concept that we came up with a few years ago when a small group of us got together to envision hosting a program that could create a discussion around topics that felt like they were in the future, but we knew would be part of everybody’s world,” said Jen Giovannitti, president of the Benedum Foundation. “Things that would impact the economy, the state of learning and the workforce in West Virginia.”

“...Through presenting topics of relevance and intrigue and bringing in national and local experts to the table, we can think critically about the future,” she said. “This is our chance to have a guided look around the corner at what the future holds and hopefully seize new opportunities.”

Gayle Manchin, who now serves as federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, was a co-founder of Focus Forward. She and others say the goal is to expand West Virginia’s potential for success.

“It’s about how well we can do,” she said. “How good of a job can we do in pushing forward what we’re trying to push forward?”

She likened those in the world today to those who helped forge this country from the wilderness it once was.

“We’re kind of back where we started from — we’re kind of pioneers again,” she said. “We’re pioneers navigating a new world in this Appalachian region.”

The Focus Forward symposium serves a great purpose and creates a tremendous atmosphere of open discussion and learning. There is no doubt it has served its original mission and will continue to contribute to the success in many facets of industry, education and quality of life.