Ohio Governor John Kasich highlighted his new state budget proposal’s technology plans at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland on Monday. He says the state can do more with data to improve healthcare and adapt to a changing economy. Nick Castele of member station WCPN in Cleveland reports.
Kasich’s budget creates a new position: chief innovation officer, who will try to
connect Ohio’s education sector with new technologies. That person will lead the new
Ohio Institute of Technology, which is budgeted at $750,000 a year.
The governor also wants to outfit part of I-90 in Cleveland with fiber optic cables
and sensors, to monitor traffic and prepare for autonomous vehicles. That’s in
addition to a $45 million commitment from the state and other sources for the
Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio.
Kasich says the state should embrace emerging industries. And for those who fear
that one day a robot will be doing their job, the governor says this:
KASICH: “People have to understand that with technology can come jobs that are
connected to technology where you can actually make more money and have a more
secure job. I mean, we’re in a transition now, and I think part of the challenge and
part of the problem is we have not been aggressive enough in being able to retrain
people.”
Kasich spoke at think[box] on Case Western’s campus. It’s what’s known as a “maker
space,” where students and others can use such tools as 3-D printers and laser
cutters to make new products.