FINDLAY, Ohio (WLIO) — The opportunities and questions surrounding A.I. technology were the focus of an event at the University of Findlay.
The college hosted the 2026 Challenges to Innovation Conference, focusing specifically on the role of artificial intelligence in the field of environmental health and safety.
Organizers said the goal was to strengthen ties between students and the local environmental, health and safety community.
Organizers said the goal was to strengthen ties between students and the local environmental, health and safety community.
Friday’s speakers included graduates from the university who have gone on to see the impact A.I. is having in their fields.
“I feel like the younger generation is really more adapting to it. It's that next generation, I'll say, my generation, and even the generation above me, as we're in the work field, as we're in the profession, being able to adapt to it and learn from it,” says Adam Bates, Global VP of Environmental, Health, and Safety, Vibrantz Technologies.
“Being able to look at tasks that from the construction standpoint, that a foreman has to do these five things in the morning before he can even go to work. Well, if I utilize AI and I can streamline those things, instead of it being an hour's worth of work, it's 10 minutes worth of work. Now he's actually out supervising his people more, so he's more efficient at what his job is versus the administrative functions,” says Steve Kinn, Senior Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager, Kwest Group.
The conference was geared toward alumni, students and local industry, and also examined the ethical use of A.I. along with the critical role of human interaction.
