Delaware Tech Forum revisits how AI shapes the state one year later

AI changes the way businesses do things so fast, companies can get ahead — or fall behind — over a new advancement that’s just days old.

Events like the AI in DE Tech Forum on May 22 aims to show the community how AI is changing the landscape. The second iteration of the annual event will focus on how AI usage is evolving in the public, private and academic sectors, according to panel moderator Patrick Callahan, head of data and analytics and innovation at the Wilmington-based laboratory automation company LabWare. But the biggest development this year will likely be seen with the audience, who have had AI as part of their everyday lives for more than a year now.

“I can’t even get through a week without having my world turned upside down,” Callahan told Technical.ly.

AI has particularly impacted the data science sector, according to Callahan. He uses it frequently in his current role with LabWare, where he’s been since the company acquired his startup CompassRed Data Labs. Callahan also works closely with other organizations invested in Delaware innovation — he sits on the boards of Delaware Data Innovation Lab, the Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation, Girls on the Run and Delaware Prosperity Partnership — keeping a close eye on how the community reacts to the latest advancements in AI.

It’s moving so quickly, we can actually see it as it’s happening, in contrast even to the internet, which came so slowly after first being available to the public that it eased into our lives. Last year’s AI in DE Tech Forum was a revelation, with attendees learning how much AI was already being used by DuPont, by the state and in data science.

But even since then, AI isn’t what it was when attendees listened in to last year’s event. You can literally see the speed of advancement in examples like the video “Will Smith Eating Spaghetti 2023-2024.” Just last year the prompt created a bizarre scene of a cartoonish Smith doing something that vaguely approximated eating with his hands, while a 2024 version, though still pretty bizarre, can almost pass for a video of a real person.

“Last year, ChatGPT had just been released like four months before [the panel],” said Greg Plum, Tech Forum’s chairperson of the board. “People had started to hear about it, but they hadn’t really touched it.”

The pace of AI product development transcends our ability to keep up

So where is generative AI going next? Companies are trying to make AI our personal concierge, with developments like the Rabbit R1 AI companion, but we’re not quite there yet. According to reviewers, the gadget just couldn’t keep up with human demands.

Despite that apparent failure of the Rabbit R1 AI companion, Callahan thinks similar AI agents are the future.

For example, you’ll be able to ask AI to plan a vacation for your family and it will come up with an itinerary based on what you’ve inputted about each family member and then, when you approve it, book it for you.

Callahan will discuss that more with Dr. Cathay H. Wu of the University of Delaware, John Schlegel of DuPont, Dr. Matthew Saponaro of AIWhoo School and Solomon Adote, CSO for the State of Delaware at the AI in DE event later this month.

“It’s really fascinating,” Callahan said. “Universities and communities and everyone else can either take this moment and do something with it or sit back and risk not being able to lead in this area.”