(The Center Square) – Pittsburgh’s “AI Strike Force” is aiming high to define and become a global leader in physical AI, the space in which artificial intelligence meets material goods in the form of robotics, defense systems, transportation, and more.
In Harrisburg on Monday, the Strike Force’s executive director Joanna Doven spoke to the urgency of the moment, echoing state leaders including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Dave McCormick’s aspirations to make Pennsylvania a leader in a new era of technology.
For its part, Pittsburgh has made a strong start of it, not just pivoting its industrial reputation but capitalizing on the manufacturing demands of new technologies to maintain the relevance of its foundation in steel. Combined with leading research institutions like Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, the city makes a good case for its potential.
So far, several tech companies have opted in. From household names like Google and Duolingo to robotics companies like Skild AI and MitoAI, companies are showing up to make good use of the city’s newly branded “AI Avenue.”
Doven hopes that more will follow and is optimistic about the opportunity to nudge loose capital from Silicon Valley to do it. She envisions investors setting up satellite offices in Pittsburgh and a generation of the commonwealth’s students “leaning into the AI moment” ready to dream up innovations that would have seemed impossible just ten years ago.
“You can scale an idea faster than ever because of AI,” said Doven.
To facilitate that, a planning committee for the upcoming AI Horizons Summit is offering a $50,000 prize for “deployment-ready AI and AI-adjacent startups” in a contest open to companies across the state.
The summit will highlight advances in artificial intelligence. Following up on their appearance at Carnegie Mellon earlier this month, Shapiro and McCormick will be attending the event hosted in Bakery Square as well.
The eagerness to assume dominance in the artificial intelligence space is shared by Pennsylvanian’s Republican and Democratic leadership. As the state celebrates massive investments, over $90 billion announced this month, in data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure from companies like Amazon, the glide toward an AI-driven future has seemed remarkably without friction.
Yet, there are voices who have questioned the wisdom of moving too quickly toward the goal. At the most basic level, with a grid already stretched thin and two very different perspectives on the future of energy production, many are concerned that the state won’t have what it needs to meet the demand of power-hungry data centers, leading to high costs and less reliable service.
“We have to build more power plants because the reality is this – we don’t have enough supply to meet the demand,” said Doven. “We have the natural gas. We have to build.”
Environmental advocates who have been arguing for a movement away from fossil fuels stress that renewable sources like solar and wind are quick to get on the grid, even as Congress has cut tax incentives for new projects.
Many more see artificial intelligence interwoven with the future of nuclear energy, anticipating advances with small modular reactors that could power massive facilities.
Amazon and Microsoft have each already tied their infrastructure to two of the state’s existing nuclear plants. While Microsoft brings Three Mile Island near the state capital back online for its use, Amazon has set up shop next to Susquehanna nuclear power plant, which currently supplies energy to the public.
Many communities have protested the construction of new facilities in their neighborhoods, despite the influx of jobs promised. Their concerns range from energy and the environment to the aesthetics of the large, often loud buildings.
While the broader public continues to debate the inherent ethical and social questions presented by new artificial intelligence technologies, officials and investors focus on the hope offered by the industry and the dire consequences of falling behind.
The upshot? Doven recalls a conversation with an Nvidia employee who envisioned a future without the word “cancer.” Others suggest that the energy problems posed today by the technology will soon be solved by it as well.
Without artificial intelligence investment, there is the threat of a future in which, according to the National Security Commission on Biotechnology, China dominates the global technological landscape and undertakes punishing policies that harm everyday Americans.
With stakes set so high, it’s easy to understand why officials are putting production ahead of legislation. While Congress averted a provision in its One Big Beautiful Bill that would have prohibited states from regulating the technology, small steps are being taken to address the already occurring “disruptions,” like political deepfakes.
With the successes seen in Pittsburgh, many are willing to gamble that the benefits of artificial intelligence will outweigh and even eliminate its risks.
Of Pittsburgh’s physical artificial intelligence revolution, Doven said, “This is not wishful thinking. We’re already doing it.”
