In the news: The Blade on the promise and pitfalls of AI at Great Lakes AI Week
The Blade covered opening day of Great Lakes AI Week at BGSU, where 915 people heard speakers urge guardrails, human judgment and real investment in responsible AI.
The Blade's Tom Henry covered opening day of Great Lakes AI Week at Bowling Green State University on November 10, 2026.
Read the full story on The Blade
Highlights from the story
- 915 people came to day one at BGSU's Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The week continued at One Seagate in downtown Toledo on Wednesday and at the University of Toledo on Thursday.
- Speakers urged the region to look past the hype, put guardrails in place and remember that people stay in charge of, and accountable for, how AI is used.
- Steve Taplin, founder and CEO of Sonatafy Technology, gave one of the day's most memorable talks on why AI still needs a human in the loop to check its work.
- Summer Crenshaw, co-founder and CEO of ETA, opened the week by calling northwest Ohio a breeding ground for new technology and innovation.
- Zack Huhn, ETA Chief SuperIntelligence Officer, shared AI Ready Ohio's progress: 2,143 Ohioans AI-certified as of Tuesday morning, on the way to a 2026 goal of 3,000.
- Tushar Kulkarni, founder and CEO of Big Kitty Labs, challenged leaders to put real resources behind responsible AI.
- BGSU President Rodney Rogers, BGSU Provost Ravi Krovi and Nate Sowder of High Contrast Labs also spoke.
Great Lakes AI Week is produced by the Enterprise Technology Association with JobsOhio.
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