Healey admin's AI blueprint starts to take shape

The future of scallop farming could be an AI-powered robot wielding metal chopsticks.

• Northeastern University researchers showed Gov. Maura Healey the prototype Thursday, one of several proposals pitched to her team.

Why it matters: The Healey administration's vision for how AI can fix major problems in Massachusetts is taking shape, from AI-driven scallop sorting to less-invasive tools to detect cancer beneath the skin.

Catch up fast: The state's AI Task Force has met throughout the spring and summer to pinpoint what improvements AI can make in various industries and government work.

• The state has also paired up with Northeastern's Institute for Experiential Robotics, whose co-ops explored ways to streamline areas of Massachusetts government.

State of play: Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, task force co-chair, says the state will announce the final recommendations and action items in a summit this fall.

• Those changes could be as simple as building collaborative robots — like the chopsticks machine, to help address the worker shortage in the fishing industry —  or far, far broader.

Healey and other state officials invited Northeastern students to pitch improvements to The Ride, MassDOT's policy manuals and other areas of government they studied this spring.

• One of those pitches is to streamline the process The Ride's users have to follow when they call for a ride so they can get help faster.
• The students had started working on a higher-tech solution but pivoted after hearing most users prefer to call The Ride directly.
• Healey says the state will implement those improvements.

What they're saying: Healey's determined to make the Boston area the nation's premiere AI hub , pushing for research and a $100-million investment in AI.

• "We don't want the great ideas that are hatched here at universities like Northeastern and other schools to be commercialized elsewhere," Healey said Thursday.

Between the lines: Healey's AI evangelism comes at a time when Texas and other lower-cost states have already lured workers and some companies from Massachusetts.

• Researchers, however, pitched AI-powered robots and tools that are programmed to work alongside humans as a potential solution for worker shortages, medical research gaps and even delays in housing construction.

Yes, but: Whether Greater Boston can become an AI hub remains to be seen.

• The region is known for its world-renowned hospitals, universities and startups, but Massachusetts faces stiff competition from California, New York and Texas when it comes to generative AI.