Sen. Young says research will help fill Trades District; state could lead in AI development

Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Todd Young says the U.S. should tailor legislation to produce more here, while coordinating production with other allies.

It was one of several topics at Wednesday’s Federal Focus lunch with the chamber of commerce at Ivy Tech Bloomington.

Bloomington’s tech park still mainly sits empty, though work is being done to fill the Trades District with economic activity. Young says a feature of the CHIPS in Science Act is to increase investment in university research.

“That will lead to more discoveries, which in turn, will lead to more startups in our university communities like Bloomington. So we're very excited about the tech Park and the vision that President Whitten and others have there,” he said.

Read more: Boutique hotel with restaurant, bar proposed for Trades District

Terre Haute is looking to add more than a thousand jobs in the coming year with the opening of the casino and battery parts producer Entek.

Mayor Duke Bennett says the city needs to increase its population to fill the workplace and recruit businesses.

“The government isn't going to solve everything. I know, I've said that 100 times also, but they can sure help facilitate and, fill the gap to get the private sector to do what it needs to do,” Bennett said.

Young says Indiana is one of most intensive manufacturing states in the country and has experience on how to fill those jobs.

“Our universities, Ivy Tech, Indiana University, and so many others are focused on training that workforce for tomorrow, we also really need to up our game as it relates to K through 12,” he said.

Read more: Artificial Intelligence and agriculture: a surprising combination

Young says Indiana will be a major player in the future of Artificial Intelligence. He sees the state using AI to solve problems of producing crops, in turn bringing down the price of food to solving national security problems at Naval Support Activity Crane.

He also cautions constraining innovation by moving too far with regulatory efforts.