The big picture: Utah is building a first-of-its-kind framework to help organizations use artificial intelligence responsibly — before they’re forced to look back with regret.

Why it matters: AI tools are advancing faster than policies can keep up. Without guidance, schools, businesses, and governments risk unintended harm — from biased algorithms to privacy breaches.

Driving the news: The University of Utah recently released the AI Leadership Blueprint, a practical guide developed through collaboration between universities, businesses, and state agencies.

• The goal: Give organizations clear, adaptable tools to integrate AI ethically — whether they’re risk-averse or innovation-forward.
• The approach: Rather than mandating one-size-fits-all rules, the blueprint offers a menu of policies, frameworks, and real-world examples.

What they’re saying: “We can’t tell individual organizations how they should incorporate AI specifically, but we can give examples and provide that guidance,” says Dr. Penny Atkins, director of research and science at the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute at the University of Utah. She also supports the One Utah Responsible AI Initiative (One-U RAI).

• “Those who are developing technology cannot also be experts in all things of social impact and bias and integrity and security even. So I think it’s really important that we have this combined approach where people are coming together to develop these guardrails,” Atkins says.

Between the lines: Utah’s strategy isn’t about restricting AI — it’s about empowering informed decisions.

• The state is testing guardrails based on science and innovation, not fear.
• Focus areas include environment, health care, and education — sectors where AI’s impact will be felt most acutely.

The human factor: “Underlying all of this is these durable skills, things like responsibility and ethics and being able to kind of see the bigger picture about what you’re doing,” Atkins explains. “And I think that those things are very constant.”

The bottom line: “We would love to see more engagement from all people across our community — not just those who see themselves in the tech space,” says Atkins.

What’s next: The Responsible AI Community Consortium continues meeting to evolve the blueprint as technology — and risk — evolves.

Go deeper: rai.utah.edu/ai-blueprint