2026 AI Public Policy Forum – Shaping the Future of AI & Policy in Iowa
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, TAI hosted a thought-provoking forum — made possible by presenting sponsors SHAZAM Network – ITS, Inc and Google — focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping Iowa’s economy and what’s next for growth and competitiveness.
Chris Cournoyer, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, helped kick off the forum by discussing her background in AI, which dates back to the 1980s, when she was a young student. In fact, for a science fair project, she focused on artificial intelligence at the encouragement of her father. She joked that she received an A because no one knew what she was talking about.
Fast forward to today –
"AI isn’t just a science fair topic anymore. It’s an economy across every business sector. It’s a reality changing how we learn, get things done, and improve lives across the state.”
Lt. Gov. Cournoyer explained that while Iowa is in a strong position when it comes to AI — thanks to the educated, adaptable technology ecosystem the state continues to grow — that opportunity also comes with responsibility to ensure the technology is used ethically and responsibly.
“Public policy is key to this transition. Good policy should encourage innovation, not slow it down, and protect our people without limiting our progress.”
The AI Public Policy Forum & Legislative Reception, she noted, is one way to spark better conversations and outcomes.
The highlight of the forum was a panel session moderated by TAI President Brian Waller, featuring Iowa technology executive Joe Riesberg (SVP & CIO, EMC Insurance Companies), national policy leader Jennifer G. Young (CEO, Technology Councils of North America), and data center manager Clay Allsop (Manager, Regional Data Centers, Google).
Attendees, including technology leaders, AI practitioners, lawmakers, and community partners, heard about how organizations are deploying AI today, what’s changing for skills and talent, how AI-driven demand is influencing data center expansion, and what a smart, competitive path forward could look like for Iowa.
“AI isn’t a future headline anymore. It’s already reshaping how organizations operate, how teams work, and how services are delivered across every industry. And as adoption accelerates, the questions get more practical: what’s changing for skills and talent, what leaders are learning as they deploy AI now, and what it means for the policy environment and the infrastructure that will support growth here in Iowa.”
Here’s a brief recap of the engaging panel discussion:
When you look at AI in 2026, what feels like it has the most pressing impact right now in your world?
For Riesberg, it’s the pace of change. He likened it to the COVID-19 pandemic, when information and guidelines changed on a seemingly week-to-week basis. With AI, it seems like there’s a new security risk every month.
“We’re reacting so quickly, and that’s unique amongst all the technology disruptions I’ve seen over my career."
Young agreed that the speed of change is a major factor right now, but government doesn’t move that fast. Many policymakers don’t know much about AI or what guardrails are needed. Add to that the constant flow of information that changes by the day, and policy-making becomes difficult.
Allsop said he is waiting for the next big ChatGPT moment — the AI tool that brought the technology to the forefront of modern society.
“No doubt it’s coming,” he said.
When we say Iowa needs to stay competitive in AI, what does that mean?
Allsop pointed out that the largest data center Google operates is in Council Bluffs, which was sited in 2007.
“We’ve continually invested in that site, and I think that is largely because we have a productive ecosystem from the public policy space with the state and local government, and we have an energy partner that we can work with,” he said. “Those are the things that helped accelerate Iowa, particularly Council Bluffs, as a leader in AI development and data center infrastructure.”
Similarly, Young noted that Iowa ranks 11th among states for data center development. That standing is the result of different entities working together — including local governments and electricity providers — as well as assets like competitive energy rates that entice new developments.
When he thinks about AI adoption at EMC Insurance, Riesberg quoted one of his favorite phrases: “Diffusion beats invention.”
“In other words, it’s not going to come from the top down,” he said. “It’s not going to come from myself or my leaders or the leadership at EMC saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to drive this great innovation.’”
Instead, it comes from widespread use across the organization.
“It’s the team member not being afraid of AI, but truly embracing it,” Riesberg said. “Where real change happens is at the team level. So to me, it’s about creating an environment where we’re not afraid of the big AI in the sky and instead creating an opportunity.”
And even though Iowa may not be considered an AI hub, Riesberg said he continues to be impressed with the state’s ability to attract and retain technology talent.
What’s changing for talent in the next 12 to 24 months?
According to Riesberg, roles are shifting in the midterm because tasks are already changing in the short term.
“Very rarely will AI completely replace your job, but it is going to change your job,” he said. “This is the biggest disruption, in my opinion, in the 21st century. This is absolutely the biggest change to business.”
Young said AI is more about adoption than fear — and about helping workers rethink how they approach their jobs rather than focusing solely on replacement.
“It’s a matter of changing your mindset around how you do your job versus, well, I’m not going to have a job in six months,” she shared. “How can I make my job more efficient? How can I be utilizing AI tools to do my job better, faster, and take on more responsibility … things like that.”
Regarding the intersection of the workforce and data centers, Waller noted that Google recently funded a $500,000 initiative in Iowa to train more than 700 new electricians statewide. He asked Allsop to speak about skilled-trade roles in the data center industry that traditionally are not viewed as tech jobs.
Allsop responded that he thinks the industry is seeing a shift away from strictly four-year degrees, noting that there are many opportunities outside that pathway.
For instance, Google sponsors the STAR (Skilled Trades and Readiness) Program, which enrolls candidates directly from high school — as young as 18 — and trains them for entry-level construction, technician, and fiber-optics careers. Google pays for the program and compensates participants for their time in class. Graduates also benefit from a 100% placement rate for construction roles and leave with zero debt and industry-recognized certifications.
“We’d love for them to all come on board to Google, but it’s just our effort to start to retool the next generation for what the jobs are that we see coming ahead,” Allsop said.
What are you seeing in regard to AI legislation?
Waller shared that Iowa lawmakers are currently considering several bills related to computer science and AI education, including HSB 609, which would set new requirements for the Workforce Development Board, the Board of Education, and the Department of Education to improve AI and cybersecurity literacy.
Young noted that in 2025, 1,200 AI-related bills focused on workforce issues were introduced across the country. This year, more than 1,100 bills — including workforce legislation — have already been filed.
Still, she said, adoption remains slow, especially in classrooms.
“Unfortunately, kind of pervasively because of how AI was originally introduced — like having ChatGPT rewrite my paper for me, or it’s just going to write it for me. I think there are many cases where there’s a knee-jerk reaction to, oh, AI is just going to help them cheat, and they’re not going to learn,” Young said. “And accordingly, [educators] are almost doing the opposite of encouraging AI use in a responsible way because they don’t know what they don’t know.”
She added that there are many opportunities to educate students about AI responsibly—from grammar assistance to learning tools—and that Iowa is well-positioned to lead in this area.
There’s a perception that data centers don’t create many jobs. What does the workforce really look like?
Allsop said STEM education remains critical and that data centers require engineers, as well as people with strong collaboration and creative-thinking skills.
“And that doesn’t have to necessarily mean creating or changing a product,” he noted. “It could be innovating within a white-collar role — looking at how a desk job is done and thinking, ‘This is really slow. I’ll bet there’s a faster way to do that.’”
At some Google data centers, he said, there may be 200 to 400 employees, while larger campuses employ more than 1,000 full-time workers in operations alone. The Council Bluffs facility has been under construction for two decades, generating thousands of construction jobs across Google’s U.S. footprint.
“So when we have a place where we can expand, and we have a predictable, productive regulatory environment, we're talking thousands of jobs that are beyond exactly what the data center does."
How should communities talk about concerns around electricity and water use?
Allsop acknowledged those are legitimate concerns and said Google is committed to working with utility providers, municipalities, and water partners to find solutions.
He cited Douglas County, Georgia, as an example, where effluent water is used to cool a data center — a partnership between the county and Google that efficiently reuses wastewater.
He also pointed to demand-response opportunities with energy providers.
“We invite every community that we go into to help us understand what challenges they’re facing,” Allsop said. “Wastewater becomes a lot of them, and a lot of times we’ll end up building the infrastructure that we need, but also infrastructure that will benefit the community as well, whether that be roads, wastewater, or electrical infrastructure. There are a lot of different opportunities for us to become partners because Google is essentially becoming an infrastructure development company, and that is typically the local governmental space.”
Allsop explained that when the Council Bluffs data center was first sited in 2007, its needs were very different. At the time, Gmail and YouTube traffic dominated — far simpler than today’s complex, multi-directional data flows. Iowa’s central location and stable regulatory environment have kept Google investing in the region for two decades.
“Now the demands of our customers are very different,” Allsop said. “We need data centers to be closer to our customers across North America, but Iowa continues to be a place where we can invest more and more.”
In fact, Google has invested more than $14 billion in Iowa, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to the state.
What problem are statehouses trying to solve with AI policy right now?
Young said many legislatures are still determining what challenges they are trying to address, particularly in the absence of comprehensive federal policy.
“We’re seeing popup bills all across the gamut,” she said. “Ethics, child safety, you name it.”
But uncertainty around the goals of legislation remains a hurdle.
“That is a huge inhibitor,” Young said. “I do encourage everyone in this room to talk to your policymakers and offer yourself as a resource. (…) They need you. They need to understand. They need to know what they don’t know and help them do what they need because they don’t really know what they need, and they don’t really know what the repercussions are of what they’re trying to do.”
She added that poorly informed policies — including examples from Colorado and California — often stem from a lack of industry insight.
“It’s no fault of their own,” she said. “They’re not in your industry, but they need help from people in your industry to guide them.”
Key Takeaways
Clay Allsop
Manager, Regional Data Centers, Google
Allsop cautioned against oversimplifying energy or AI topics in short social media posts, noting the issues are far too complex for quick sound bites. Still, he left the audience with a memorable rule of thumb: every [Gemini] AI query uses about five drops of water, or the energy equivalent of 10 seconds of YouTube streaming — something he remembers as the “five and 10” rule.
“And that’s something that you can think about, well, is this worth the five drops of water?” he said. “Whether this AI query wrote a paper for me or it helped me understand a doctor’s diagnosis a little bit better. Those are the opportunities that it presents. I compare it to the railroad, the interstate system, all things that created tremendous efficiencies in our economy.”
Jennifer G. Young
CEO, Technology Councils of North America (TECNA)
Young reminded attendees of the importance of civic engagement.
“Your constitutional right is to talk to your legislators and voice your opinion. As your lieutenant governor said today, it doesn’t matter what letter comes after their name; whether you agree with them or not, just be an Iowan. Go talk to them. Tell them what you do for a living. Offer to be a resource.”
She also encouraged everyday use of AI.
“It’s for all of us, and I encourage you to use it and get curious,” Young said.
Joe Riesberg
SVP & CIO, EMC Insurance Companies
Riesberg closed on an optimistic note about Iowa’s future.
“History is the best telling that AI is not going to replace jobs,” he said. “Let’s talk about that as a state of Iowa and view the opportunity through that optimistic lens. Talk to your businesses, this group, engage in the conversation, and let’s look at it with a very positive perspective.”