— AI growth is more likely to threaten those already in the workforce than younger generations who are learning how to use AI before entering the workforce, experts say. Mike Splinter, a 40-year veteran of the semiconductor industry and co-founder of WISC partners, and Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, director of UW-Madison’s School of Computer, Data & Information Science made the comments during a UW Alumni Association virtual event last night. One of the biggest concerns about the impacts of artificial intelligence growth is how it will impact the jobs market. Many contend it will displace entire job sectors and change the entire employment landscape for generations about to graduate college while others argue it’s a key tool to improve efficiency. Splinter said the biggest issue with job displacement will be for older workers who are unwilling to learn how best to use the growing technology. “It’s not incoming workers that have the biggest threat; it’s the existing workers that are not AI savvy that are going to be under the biggest threat,” he said. “In organizations, there are going to be people who don’t want to do anything with AI. Those people are going to have the biggest problem and find themselves in job jeopardy over a period of time.” Younger generations going through school during the AI boom have the chance to weave the new technology into their education. “Kids coming out of college today are AI savvy, they can probably have AI write code for them, they know how to think about agentic workers and how to supervise them in a way that people who have been doing it one way their whole life [find] is going to be very diffuclt,” Splinter said. “This is unlike other tech revolutions where maybe people just coming into the workforce were at the biggest disadvantage.” Arpaci-Dusseau said the biggest issue for younger generations is the uncertainty of the job market they’re entering and being unsure of which jobs may be taken over by AI. But they’re better suited to use it as a tool. “So in science, in almost all fields of inquiry, if you’re adept with what the tools are able to do, you’re going to be better off than somebody who isn’t,” he said. Arpaci-Dusseau called AI tools “incredible” to help learn faster, but “they’re not perfect.” A strong background of traditional knowledge is essential to using AI to its full potential, he said. “But if you have some knowledge, and you have deep knowledge in the things that you’ve studied, you can really amplify what you’re doing, much like a bicycle amplifies our ability to move around the world,” he said. — The pair of experts also agreed concerns around data center electricity consumption are very real and the issue needs to be addressed. Power consumption and the possibility of data center growth in Wisconsin is a concern for many as data center construction booms in the state with at least seven more projects coming online in the next few years. Water, which data centers use to cool vast arrays of IT equipment, is another concern for many Wisconsinites. “I think the power usage in these data centers is incredible,” Splinter said. “But having said that, we’re only at the beginning, so you have to be thinking that in five or 10 years from now, maybe, just these data centers will utilize as much power as we use today in the United States.” In 2019, the country had roughly 1,000 data centers, which consumed roughly 1.9% of the total electricity in the country, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Those numbers in 2023 grew, with the total number of data centers more than doubling and their electricity consumption increasing to roughly 4.4% of total electricity consumed in the country. Arpaci-Dusseau said it’s going to be up to researchers and investors to keep working on ways to make computing more efficient, but the issue of power consumption and the environment is “certainly a huge issue.” “So one way to approach it is to keep investing in research, in the fundamentals of how you build computer systems, of how you write the algorithms that run on computer systems to do things more efficiently, and that’s something that 100% academics as well as industry are focused on,” he said. Watch the event. — The Department of Labor announced the launch of its Innovation Grants program, opening the opportunity for applicants to receive up to 25% of total costs for a variety of functions. The $300 million program is open to counties, municipalities and tribes across Wisconsin, and each is eligible for up to $10 million annually. To be eligible, applicants must be willing to transfer an allowable service or duty to another county, municipality, tribe, non-profit organization or private entity. Allowable services include Public safety, law enforcement and emergency services;*Fire protection;*Courts and jails;*Public works and information technology;*Administration, including staffing and payroll;*Economic development and tourism;*Public health;*Housing, planning and zoning;*Parks and recreation; and*Training and communications. See the release. — Wisconsin’s average vaccination rate for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has declined by roughly 5 percentage points over the past eight years, new data shows. A Stanford University and NBC News study of county-level data shows the state’s MMR vaccination rate dropped to 84.2% in 2024 from 89.1% in 2016. That’s lower than most states in the Midwest. For example, almost every county in Illinois has a vaccination rate of more than 90%, though the statewide average there also fell to 96.8% from 98.5% during the same time. The news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today reported 38 measles outbreaks nationwide this year, more than double the 16 outbreaks in 2024. There have also been 1,491 individual cases of measles reported, 86% of which are related to outbreaks. Those are both increases from last year when there were 285 cases nationwide with 69% of them associated with outbreaks. Wisconsin so far this year has had 36 confirmed measles cases and two hospitalizations, all of which have happened since July, according to Department of Health Services data. All of Wisconsin’s measles cases this year occurred in Oconto County, which has a vaccination rate of 87%, down from 88% in 2016, but still above the statewide average. Half of the cases occurred in people 5-17 years old. Wisconsin’s top five vaccination rates by county are:*Ashland – 94%;*Douglas and Oneida – 93%;*Dane – 92%; and*Buffalo, Kewaunee and Green – 91%. Wisconsin’s bottom five vaccination rates by county are:*Milwaukee and Vernon – 73%;*Burnett – 70%;*Bayfield – 60%;*Iowa – 54%; and*Price – 52%. See the new county-level data. See the CDC data. For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com. Sign up here. TOP STORIES Democrat Francesca Hong promises to be ‘wild card’ in Wisconsin governor’s race USDA to Study Fertilizer Prices Under New Senate Bill TOPICS ADVERTISING AGRIBUSINESS – New Ag Read and STEAM Program Engages Wisconsin Students EDUCATION – Viterbo University receives $1M gift for nursing scholarship FINANCIAL SERVICES – Thrivent commits to building a new, smaller operations center at Wilden Portfolio Park in Appleton MANUFACTURING – Officials investigating employee death at Palermo’s Pizza facility in Milwaukee POLITICS – Capitol secrets: 10 little-known facts about the Wisconsin statehouse REAL ESTATE – Developer plans up to 250 riverfront apartments in Stoughton – City Will Waive Permit Fees For Owner-Occupied Homes Flood Repair TECHNOLOGY – Clean Wisconsin says data center power usage could exceed all homes in state combined TRANSPORTATION – Rep. Steil Calls For Greater Federal Oversight of MCTS COLUMNS – Beyond the breakthrough: Transforming university inventions into everyday innovations – Wisconsin Depends on Immigration PRESS RELEASES See these and other press releases U.S. Rep. Fitzgerald: Bank Competition Modernization Act passes Financial Services Committee HRG: Makes significant update to industry-standard Fine Line Classification System
