Innovators filled 1819 to discuss the future of tech
As 2025 wraps up, the tech world isn’t slowing down.
Hosted at the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub and led by the Enterprise Technology Association, the forum put business leaders in the same room to wrestle with today’s most urgent tech questions. Missed the sessions? Here’s what stood out.
When the process is good and the data is good, AI works really well.
If anything, it’s rapidly speeding up, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI). Cincinnati innovators know that, and they gathered at the Future Tech Forum to talk about how to adapt as the ground keeps shifting.
That means organizations have work to do before expecting results. Clear processes, clean data and regular updates matter. When AI misses the mark, it’s often reflecting gaps humans built in first.
AI must be properly trained
For all the buzz around AI, one point came through loud and clear. These tools don’t work perfectly straight out of the box.
When the process is good and the data is good, AI works really well.
IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, City of Cincinnati
“When the process is good and the data is good, AI works really well,” says Hanna Khoury, who works on IT infrastructure and cybersecurity for the City of Cincinnati. “When you train an agent on messy data, you get a messy agent.”
Instead of AI cleaning up dysfunction, it highlights it. Tools train on whatever data and processes already exist, whether they’re good or bad. As Khoury sums it up, “Trash in, trash out.”
That means organizations have work to do before expecting results. Clear processes, clean data and regular updates matter. When AI misses the mark, it’s often reflecting gaps humans built in first.
You control AI don’t let AI control you
AI can move fast. Too fast, if no one’s paying attention.
Speakers cautioned against the urge to hand off entire workflows to automation. While AI can save time and money, removing humans from the loop invites problems that are harder to fix later.
“AI is just another tool in the toolbox,” says Ryan Hale, chief information officer at Lithko Contracting.
It’s meant to support people, not replace them. AI generates responses based on prompts and patterns, so it still needs direction, review and correction. Without that oversight, organizations risk letting technology steer decisions instead of serving
Ready or not, AI has come
Skepticism about AI is not going away, and speakers acknowledged that concern. But avoiding the tools altogether is no longer a viable strategy.
“These [AI] tools are here, they’re changing fast and you can either learn them or be left behind,” says Bharath Prabhakaran, the University of Cincinnati’s chief digital officer.
That thinking is shaping how UC approaches AI across campus. The goal isn’t novelty, but instead career readiness. Bearcats are taught how AI is governed, how it should be used ethically and how it shows up in real jobs.
Across industries, AI literacy is becoming an expectation. Those unwilling to engage may soon find themselves struggling to keep pace.
