What’s next for AI? Lessons from MidwestCon 2026
AI is driving changes in the workplace and sparking infrastructure discussions across the U.S.
AI is changing how people work, build products and think about the infrastructure communities need to thrive.
Those questions took center stage at MidwestCon, hosted in mid-September at the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub. From the heart of the Cincinnati Innovation District, innovators tackled what AI means in the real world, from emerging technologies to new business models and the support needed to sustain them in the future.
Couldn’t make it to MidwestCon 2026? Here are a few key takeaways.
The world of AI may be transforming the workplace, but humans remain extremely valuable for what it can’t do. Adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, communication, human judgment and empathy are just a few qualities that AI struggles to fully replicate.
Rob Richardson, founder of AI services firm Disruption Now and chief curator of MidwestCon, believes humans should hone three critical advantages they hold over artificial intelligence.
“Number one, humans are still going to have to own a decision; you’re accountable,” he says.
A panel discussion during MidwestCon 2026. Photo/Stephen Kenney
AI can help people get things done efficiently, but the responsibility still lands on the person using it. Final products must be reviewed and improved by the human who gave the instructions in the first place, and any errors that slip through the cracks fall on their shoulders.
Richardson notes that humans must control situations involving “anything with relationships and emotion.” He specifically calls out the value of deep empathy, conflict management and building genuine relationships with coworkers and customers.
AI has boosted the value of innately human skills. Photo/Kathryn Mowery
Continuing, Richardson highlights the power of “developing judgment in context.” While AI’s abilities have expanded over time, it still cannot be reliably trusted to determine whether its actions are being taken too far. Human guardrails help to constrain AI when it starts moving in the wrong direction.
Between decision ownership, relationship-building and judgment calls, there are plenty of responsibilities where humans remain essential. Members of today’s workforce should take note and polish those skills accordingly.
AI is no longer limited to text produced by large language models like ChatGPT or Gemini. It’s increasingly being built into robots, autonomous vehicles, hardware and other systems that touch the physical world.
That shift was another part of the conversation at MidwestCon.
Benjamin Ko, CEO of Cincinnati-based product development firm Kaleidoscope Innovation, has carefully followed the rise of physical AI.
As an economy, we're coalescing around this idea of technology's ability to perceive the environment, and to make sense of it.
Benjamin Ko CEO, Kaleidoscope Innovation
“As an economy, we’re coalescing around this idea of technology’s ability to perceive the environment, and to make sense of it,” he says. “Examples of this might be robots and autonomous vehicles … It’s going to multiply as AI moves into more products, systems and automated equipment that we all interact with every day.”
Innovators from across the Midwest and beyond recently caught a glimpse of what that could look like during the AI+Robotics Summit, hosted at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub and Digital Futures complex. The event explored robots, drones, ecommerce automation and other ways that AI is being embedded into real-world applications.
The takeaway is simple: AI is increasingly becoming part of the products, machines and systems people work with every day.
There is a less visible cost to AI's rapid growth: the enormous resources required to power it.
Data centers need massive amounts of electricity and water, and demand is expected to grow as more companies and consumers rely on AI-powered services.
Data center in California. Photo/iStock
According to the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, a hyperscale data center can use as much electricity as 100,000 homes, and the amount of electricity consumed by data centers nationwide in 2023 was roughly equal to the Buckeye State’s entire consumption that year.
With data centers projected to consume up to 9% of the United States’ total electricity by 2030 at the current rate, hard conversations are starting to emerge around energy, water, infrastructure and who pays for the resources needed to support this growth.
Those discussions matter, according to Richardson.
AI data centers require a massive amount of energy. Photo/iStock
“The truth is, we as a society are not prepared for what it means to redesign our energy and our infrastructure,” he notes. “There has to be a collective plan because the way we did our design, our energy, our policy and infrastructure was designed for a time when we didn’t want to be on the computer.”
Efforts are spreading across the U.S. to reduce the resources needed to power AI, while governments are beginning to consider policies around infrastructure and cost-sharing.
As the conversations at MidwestCon made clear, AI may be digital, but the systems supporting it remain physical.
Top tech firms have for years been associated with Silicon Valley, but AI is creating opportunities in places with different strengths. The Midwest boasts leading universities like UC, manufacturing expertise, available space, infrastructure and access to energy and talent.
Ko is optimistic about Cincinnati’s growth potential amid the coming wave of innovation.
“We have a ton of opportunity, resources, space and technology here,” he states. “Our risk of missing out isn’t from California taking it from us; it’s from us not utilizing the resources we already have at our own disposal.”
UC students working in the Lindner College of Business. Photo/Chris Radcliffe
There’s no lack of innovation talent and resources for innovators in Southwest Ohio. UC has nearly 54,000 students, many with professional experience before graduation due to the school’s top-ranked co-op program among public universities.
Major firms cluster in the 1819 Innovation Hub to attract student talent and build relationships with nearby innovators, while others head straight to its Venture Lab startup accelerator or 12,000-square-foot makerspace.
On top of that, Ohio ranks as America’s top state for business due to its low cost of living, solid infrastructure and easy availability to power, water and top talent.
For Cincinnati, the greatest opportunity comes from connecting overlooked resources with the people and companies investing in innovation.
Ohio's AI thought leader
MidwestCon chose Cincinnati, and UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub in particular, to explore AI’s future for good reason.
Basing the event at the building put the conference alongside Bearcats with real-world job experience, tech leaders from 1819 partners such as Microsoft, Sensory Robotics and Quest Defense, and entrepreneurs developing novel uses for AI.
AI innovation is thriving in Cincinnati. Photo/UC Marketing+Communications
The conversations at MidwestCon made one thing clear: AI innovation isn’t happening somewhere else. It’s happening across Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio in university labs, where students, entrepreneurs, startups, established companies and researchers are developing new applications for the technology.
The Buckeye State is no longer a place for high-tech titans to fly over; it’s becoming a destination. At the center of Cincinnati’s growing innovation ecosystem is the UC 1819 Innovation Hub, where ideas and conversations are becoming tomorrow’s next great innovations.
Frequently asked questions
Artificial intelligence is boosting the value of adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, communication, human judgment and empathy, among other skills. Meanwhile, AI has automated some routine tasks, leading to greater efficiency but targeted job losses in certain fields.
The University of Cincinnati is preparing students for an AI-powered workforce by equipping them with knowledge of AI best practices, by launching the BearcatGPT large language model and by helping students gain experience in today's workforce, as seen by its ranking as America's top public university for co-ops and internships.
AI innovation and conversations are happening all across Cincinnati. The UC Venture Lab has birthed AI-driven startups such as Qualz.ai and ContentCraze, among others, while the 1819 Innovation Hub is home to workspaces for Microsoft, Sensory Robotics, Airtrek Robotics and additional firms with AI and general automation expertise. Meanwhile, Cincy AI Week draws over 1,000 attendees per year and has become the model for AI-focused events in cities like Columbus, Nashville, Atlanta and Tampa.
AI is leading to considerable changes in the workforce, with many roles shifting from predominantly production to oversight. Meanwhile, AI data centers' appetite for power and water is immense and increasing as the number of facilities grows, putting financial strains on individual households and triggering environmental concerns.
Featured image at top: MidwestCon founder Rob Richardson speaking in a panel session. Photo/Mary Dwyer