THE WASHINGTON POST: The future of AI is in western Pennsylvania
A Washington Post opinion piece by Salena Zito. The story explores Joanna’s recognition that Western Pennsylvania could become the AI revolution's epicenter, her formation of the AI Strike Team coalition, and a philosophy developed after a 2023 county council run: don't wait for those in power to act.
“If we just wait around for someone in power to figure things out, we will miss our opportunity to be a major player in this moment.” —Joanna Doven
Several years ago, Doven recognized that Western Pennsylvania, with Pittsburgh at its heart, was poised to be the center of the AI revolution. Local politicians were often dismissive of anything that had to do with natural gas, but to Doven, the connection was obvious between the anchors of research and innovation coming from Pitt and Carnegie Mellon and the abundance of resources nearby to power it. So, she started the AI Strike Team, a group of leaders she assembled from industry, academia, health care and the trade unions to work together to position the region to lead the AI revolution; and she located it right here in Pittsburgh’s “Tech Alley.”
“Our roots here are building hard things — from steel to robotics — and they perfectly match the demands of this moment,” Doven says.
