{"id":850,"date":"2025-01-31T15:58:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T15:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/ai\/?p=850"},"modified":"2025-03-06T14:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:49:18","slug":"chamber-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/ai\/2025\/01\/31\/chamber-of-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"CH-AI Brews Hot Take: Chamber of Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The man who says he wakes up thinking about Chattanooga\u2019s economic picture every day also says that when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, Chattanooga business leaders are thinking about how to best leverage the technology for economic opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of conversation around Artificial Intelligence and what\u2019s happening not just in Chattanooga but about what the bigger trends and potential impacts are,\u201d said Charles Wood, president of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are opportunities. There are risks, and there certainly are concerns out there, but the reality is the cat\u2019s out of the bag and AI is part of our daily lives,\u201d he said. \u201cI think a lot of things are going to take time to play out, but whether you sell coffee or you make cars, whether you\u2019re writing code or you\u2019re running in a restaurant, there is a question around \u2018How do we leverage this technology for our business? How do we make it more efficient? How do we make it better from a customer service standpoint?\u2019 “<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood\u2019s observations came during an episode of CH-AI Brews<\/a>, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student-led podcast from the University\u2019s Artificial Intelligence intiative. He is among the civic and business leaders and innovators featured in the eight episodes that make up the podcast\u2019s second season.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce President Charles Wood in the podcast studio with UTC’s Daniel Duggin.<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to the interest in leveraging AI technology expressed by business leaders from the Chamber\u2019s almost 2,000 member organizations, Wood said his team is looking for learning opportunities to offer its members and small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy peers, other people running chambers of commerce elsewhere in the country, we\u2019re both excited by the potential and scared of what it could mean for jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be jobs that start to fade before more jobs are created, but jobs will be created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I think that\u2019s a message to our community and community leaders. As this technology unfolds it\u2019s going to be critical whether we embrace it and how we embrace it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, Wood said, Chattanooga has two main opportunities: manufacturing and startups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe think there\u2019s opportunity for innovation in Chattanooga, and the potential for technology growth points to the second piece\u2014which is that we have a pretty significant base of manufacturing here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if you go into a lot of manufacturing settings today, it\u2019s not odd to walk in and it look like a \u2018clean room.\u2019 Only recently I walked into a manufacturing plant and I literally saw a robot running across the manufacturing floor carrying materials.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Wood added, the innovation and impact on jobs that await college graduates also presents an important opportunity for UTC to ensure that the University \u201chas the resources to build out a great talent pipeline that understands the technology, can utilize the technology and, maybe, can build the technology.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to AI savvy, \u201cI view it as a necessary skill at this point,\u201d Wood added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood joined the Chattanooga Chamber as its vice president for economic development in 2012. In that role, he focused on new job creation in Chattanooga and the 16-county tri-state region of Southeast Tennessee and north Georgia and north Alabama.\u00a0He was named president and CEO of the Chamber in 2023. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in economic development–both from the University of Southern Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Listen to Wood\u2019s conversation with UTC\u2019s Daniel Duggin, a computer science graduate student and member of the University’s AI Core Team, by visiting and following the series on Spotify<\/a>. CH-AI Brews also is available on Apple podcasts. Excerpts of season 2 episodes air on Mondays on WUTC-FM 88.1<\/a> on Mondays.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who says he wakes up thinking about Chattanooga\u2019s economic picture every day also says that when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, Chattanooga business leaders are thinking about how to best leverage the technology for economic opportunity.  \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of conversation around Artificial Intelligence and what\u2019s happening not just in Chattanooga but about… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1300,"featured_media":854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,21,1],"tags":[34,93,38,37,46,133,30,40,110,134,92,69,68,72],"class_list":{"0":"post-850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-podcasts","9":"category-uncategorized","10":"tag-ai","11":"tag-ai-community","12":"tag-ai-in-business","13":"tag-ai-initiative","14":"tag-ai-skills","15":"tag-ai-technology","16":"tag-artificial-intelligence","17":"tag-business-ai","18":"tag-chattanooga","19":"tag-community-developent","20":"tag-economic-development","21":"tag-innovation","22":"tag-podcast","23":"tag-podcasting","24":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nCH-AI Brews Hot Take: Chamber of Innovation - 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