News & Insights

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons moderated a panel of state governors at SelectUSA on Monday, discussing the effects of AI and the policies that have aided manufacturers in the leaders’ respective states.

The panel: Four governors participated in the “Governors Investing in American Technological Competitiveness” panel—Govs. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

• SelectUSA, a U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce, aims to promote and support job-creating investment in the U.S.

Timmons says: “I want to thank you so much for your leadership on behalf of manufacturers everywhere,” said Timmons, as he kicked off the panel discussion.

• “You’ve got an important perspective serving both in the State House and on the front lines to tell us how manufacturing is evolving and also the opportunities that AI presents, as well as emerging technology. Now by harnessing these technologies, it becomes clear that the United States is the best place to invest the next dollar in manufacturing.”

The AI transformation: When asked how AI is transforming their states, the governors had a range of answers.

• “We are a logistics state, and for us, our oil and gas industries are huge,” said Dunleavy. “Our mining industries are huge. Our fishing industries are huge, and those industries are capitalizing on AI for a whole host of reasons and methods. I know in the oil industry it’s making drilling a lot more efficient. And so these efficiencies are going to result in better approaches, better products, better services.”
• “If you think about the assets that the state of Maryland has, the reason that AI was so important is … that Maryland has such uniquely tethered assets to our state that made AI … desirable there,” said Moore. “[I]n the state of Maryland, you have the Johns Hopkins data center and AI initiative and the University of Maryland AI center, and you also have the University of Maryland serving as a capital of quantum. … We think it’s important for our states to be on the front edge of this, instead of waiting for consequences.”
• “We know that some of our natural assets, like having the most engineers in the country per capita, like institutions like the University of Michigan or Wayne State or Michigan State University … give us an opportunity when it comes to AI,” said Whitmer.  “Michigan will be the first state in the nation, perhaps the first place in North America, to restart a nuclear facility. … [T]here’s no question [that] if we are going to meet our clean energy goals and power the technology that is going to drive … almost every facet of our life, we’ve got to have the clean energy to do that.”
• “It’s estimated that 70% of the internet traffic of the world goes through Virginia, and that gives us a great opportunity to not just lead the nation, but lead the world in the advancement of AI,” said Youngkin. “And we’ve seen huge investment across the state. What that also requires is collaboration with our university and high school education system . . . and that allows us to really develop a unique pipeline of talent. … [A]t the heart of the application of AI is how it translates into driving efficiencies and opportunities and new capabilities in manufacturing.”

The bottom line: “As you heard from these four leaders—manufacturing powers the economic prosperity of the United States,” Timmons said in conclusion. “New technology opens new doors to do so, and the right policy decisions—and the right leadership—will make all the difference.”

Watch the whole thing: You can view the panel discussion on C-SPAN here.