Survey participation could help major sectors maintain nationally prominent positions

The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) today launched a survey across key industry sectors of Indiana’s economy seeking to capture insights about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and related digital tools. Information gleaned from the survey will be used to inform, educate and help Hoosier businesses to thrive in the digital economy.

“For Indiana to continue to lead in its most important economic sectors, we must work collaboratively to determine at what rate and how our employers are using AI. In addition, we are assessing what kinds of support they need to understand and productively use technology to push their operations forward,” said CICP CEO Melina Kennedy.

CICP’s branded initiatives Ascend Indiana, AgriNovus Indiana, BioCrossroads, Conexus Indiana and TechPoint will work directly with leaders in agbioscience, life sciences and healthcare, advanced manufacturing and logistics, and technology sectors to encourage robust participation. All data will be anonymized and aggregated prior to being made publicly available. Companies that fall outside of the initiatives’ focus areas are welcome to take the survey as well, Kennedy said.

Information from the survey will establish benchmarks and help CICP and its branded initiatives determine the next steps in helping companies and workers better understand how adoption of advanced technologies drive growth of Indiana’s economy. While many Hoosier companies have acknowledged that they are adopting advanced technology, including the use of AI, a comprehensive collection of data across Indiana’s advanced industry sectors does not yet exist.

“We’re excited to build on the work we have been doing for the past few years to measure advanced manufacturing and logistics (AML) companies’ adoption of digital technologies, including AI, and to better understand how all key industries are using this emerging technology,” said Conexus President and CEO Fred Cartwright. “Data from our 2022 technology adoption study showed that 26 percent of AML companies expect to implement AI in the next five years and 37 percent expect to implement machine learning – up from 18 percent and 22 percent in 2020, respectively.”

CICP initiatives Conexus and TechPoint have been raising awareness about the need for Hoosier companies to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies for several years and will lead the data-gathering and analysis effort. Conexus encourages digital transformation in the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors. This work includes support to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s Manufacturing Readiness Grants Program, which assists companies with technology investments. TechPoint is also driving specific economic growth opportunities for Indiana through putting technology to work under a Digital 4.0 framework.

“Technology adoption is the biggest productivity increase and economic growth lever for Indiana, particularly for the advanced sectors,” TechPoint President and CEO Ting Gootee said. “This survey is timely, as AI application and impact on the workforce are gaining market momentum.”

CICP and its branded initiatives have long pursued economic growth in Indiana’s advanced and other key industries, most recently, that work has focused on driving adoption of digital technologies to enhance competitiveness in a fast-moving economy.

Ascend’s work connecting Hoosiers to careers is informed by the impacts of technological development on the labor market. AgriNovus, BioCrossroads, Conexus and TechPoint have recently published separate reports on this topic. A recent Brookings Institution study spotlighted AnalytiXIN, an initiative incubated by BioCrossroads.

Survey questions are inspired by McKinsey & Company’s Global Survey on AI which has been used by economists and community leaders across the world to track progress of tech adoption and use that information to establish supportive policy.

Take the survey here. Deadline for submission is Wednesday, October 4, 2023.