Why it matters: As AI tools rapidly transform workplaces, Utah is tackling how to harness innovation while protecting workers and setting guardrails before problems emerge.

The big picture: The AI Blueprint from the University of Utah brings together researchers, policymakers, and business leaders to create practical frameworks for responsible AI adoption.

What they’re saying:

• Robin Huling on workplace dynamics: “We have five, almost six generations in the workplace right now and older generations are really leery of it and younger generations are really leery of leaders that don’t embrace it.”
• Kevin Williams on inevitability: “If you just cut off the technology today and said, okay, that’s it, no more, it would still be completely Earth-changing for all of us over the next 10 or 15 years just using where it is right now.”
• Huling on policy: “Have strategies in place, manifesto in place, a policy in place, coalitions together in your workplace and really attack it and on the forefront of owning the AI and learning about it and not just being reactive.”

Key insights:

• The trust deficit: Huling notes that “a high number of coworkers say they distrust coworkers that use AI,” highlighting the need for transparent communication about why AI is being introduced
• The policy gap: Companies face a dilemma—ban AI and lose innovation, or allow it without guardrails and risk data breaches and policy violations
• Learning through failure: Huling emphasizes that “allowing AI to be used and fail at it helps people understand that it’s okay to learn and to grow with it and not be fearful of it”

The societal challenge: Williams warns that environmental and societal costs will likely be “front-loaded into the process,” requiring society to be “open-eyed as far as what some of those costs are” while equipping people with new skills.

The bottom line: Without federal guidance, states like Utah are defining what “responsible AI” means—prioritizing skills over displacement and removing friction from daily work so people can focus on what matters most.

The five-year vision: Huling envisions AI literacy becoming routine across all ages, with accessible workshops and certificates ensuring “everybody from elementary school to senior citizens, it’s in their everyday life and comfortable.”

Learn more: rai.utah.edu/AI-blueprint