What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean when viewed through the lens of the broader economy? That was the focus of keynote speaker Robert Spendlove of Zions Bank at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference.
 
Rather than isolating AI as a standalone topic, Spendlove placed it inside a more complex and uncertain economic moment. Inflation pressures, shifting labor dynamics, global instability, and changing consumer behavior are all unfolding at the same time. AI is not happening in a vacuum. It is accelerating and interacting with everything else.
 
AI Is Likely Bigger Than the Dot Com Era
Spendlove framed the current moment with a comparison. The question is not whether AI will have an impact, but what kind of transformation it represents.
 
Is this a repeat of the dot com boom, or something closer to the industrial revolution?
 
His view leaned toward the latter. The industrial revolution took decades to fully play out. AI may follow a similar path, but compressed into a much shorter timeframe. The result is a level of change that is difficult to fully understand in real time.
 
The honest answer, he noted, is that no one fully understands where this is going yet.
 
An Economy Defined by Uncertainty
Spendlove stepped back to outline the broader economic picture.
 
Inflation remains a central concern. While underlying inflation has stabilized somewhat, recent increases in energy prices have pushed headline inflation higher. Global disruptions, particularly in energy markets, are creating ripple effects that impact everything from transportation to consumer goods.
 
At the same time, interest rate expectations are shifting. Markets that once anticipated declining rates are now adjusting to the possibility that rates may stay elevated or even increase.
 
The result is an environment where businesses and policymakers are making decisions without clear signals.
 
The Labor Market Is Sending Mixed Messages
One of the most striking themes of the keynote was the disconnect within the labor market.
 
On the surface, unemployment remains low. By historical standards, the labor market appears strong.
 
But beneath that, the data tells a more complicated story.
 
Hiring rates have slowed to levels not seen in more than a decade. Job openings have declined. Workers are less likely to quit, and employers are more cautious about hiring. At the same time, layoffs have not spiked in a meaningful way.
 
Spendlove described this as a low hire, low fire environment. Employers are holding steady. Workers are staying put. Everyone is waiting for more clarity.
 
That hesitation reflects a broader uncertainty about what comes next.
 
Where AI Is Showing Up in the Data
While AI is still early in its economic impact, there are early signals.
 
In highly exposed sectors such as technology and customer service, there are signs that entry level roles are being affected. Younger workers, particularly those without developed professional skills, are more vulnerable to displacement.
 
More experienced workers, especially those with strong communication and leadership abilities, are often seeing the opposite effect. AI is increasing their productivity and value.
 
This creates a shift in how organizations think about talent. Technical skills matter, but so do the durable human skills that AI cannot replicate.
 
The implication is clear. Workforce development is not just about technical training. It is about helping people build the skills that allow them to adapt.
 
Consumers Are Uneasy but Still Spending
Another tension highlighted in the keynote is the gap between how consumers feel and how they behave.
 
Consumer sentiment is low. In fact, it recently reached one of the lowest levels on record. People are concerned about inflation, job stability, and the broader economy.
 
At the same time, spending remains strong. Retail sales continue to grow, even in the face of rising costs.
 
Spendlove described this as a K shaped dynamic. Higher income households continue to spend at strong levels, while lower income households are feeling more strain.
 
That divide is becoming more visible in everything from retail trends to travel and dining behavior.
 
A Strong Position with Real Risks
Despite the uncertainty, Spendlove emphasized that Idaho remains in a strong position.
 
Population growth is well above the national average. Job growth continues to outpace the country. Unemployment remains low. Business formation is strong.
 
These fundamentals matter. They provide resilience even as broader economic conditions shift.
 
At the same time, the state is not insulated from national and global pressures. Slowing growth, policy changes, and external shocks will continue to shape the outlook.
 
The Importance of Leadership in an AI Economy
The keynote closed on a practical note.
 
AI is not a distant issue for leaders to monitor. It is already shaping productivity, hiring, and competitive advantage.
 
The risk is not simply losing jobs to AI. It is losing ground to people and organizations that understand how to use it effectively.
 
For leaders, that means engaging now. Learning how AI applies to their work. Investing in people. Building teams that combine technical capability with human judgment.
 
The shift is already underway. The only real choice is how prepared organizations will be to navigate it.
 
Robert Spendlove delivered these remarks at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference on April 21, 2026. This blog post was prepared from a transcript using the help of AI.

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Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how students learn, how teachers teach, and how schools operate. The question is no longer whether AI will enter the classroom. It already has. The real question is how it will be guided.
 
That was the focus of keynote speaker Brennan Summers at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference. His message was clear and grounded. AI is not a distant concept. It is a present reality, and education systems are at the center of how it will be used.
 
AI Is Already in the Classroom, Whether We Acknowledge It or Not
Summers began by reframing how people think about AI. Many assume they are not using it. In practice, most people interact with AI every day.
 
Email filtering, navigation tools, predictive text, streaming recommendations, and phone security all rely on AI systems. Students are already familiar with these tools, even if they do not label them as AI.
 
That matters because it removes the idea that schools can opt out. Students are already engaging with AI outside the classroom. The role of education is to bring structure, understanding, and accountability to that experience.
 
What AI Actually Is and Why That Matters
A central theme of the keynote was clarity around what AI can and cannot do.
 
AI is not thinking. It does not understand truth, empathy, or intent. It processes large amounts of data, identifies patterns, and generates outputs based on those patterns.
 
That distinction is critical in education. Teaching is fundamentally human. It requires judgment, relationships, and context. AI can support those efforts, but it cannot replace them.
 
When AI is treated as a miracle, responsibility is handed over to the tool. When it is treated as a threat, its value is ignored. The goal is balance.
 
What AI Changes Inside the Classroom
Rather than focusing on theory, Summers outlined how AI is already changing day to day learning.
 
For teachers, AI reduces time spent on repetitive tasks. Lesson materials can be generated quickly and tailored to specific student needs. Activities can be adapted in real time based on where students are struggling.
 
For students, the shift is from passive learning to active engagement. Writing becomes iterative, with immediate feedback that helps strengthen arguments before submission.
 
In practical terms, AI expands access to personalized learning. It allows students to practice more, receive clearer feedback, and engage more deeply with the material.
 
The Concerns Are Real and Need to Be Addressed
Summers addressed the concerns that are shaping conversations across Idaho.
 
AI should reduce administrative burden so teachers can focus more on instruction and relationships.
 
Students must be taught how to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly.
 
Structured, secure access is essential to protect student data.
 
Not all screen time is the same. AI can support more interactive and creative use of technology.
 
Without intentional access, AI could widen opportunity gaps.
 
Building a Foundation for AI Literacy Across Idaho
A key part of the keynote focused on what Idaho is doing to prepare students.
 
The state is introducing AI curriculum that focuses not just on using the tools, but understanding them. Students will learn how AI works, its limitations, and its ethical implications.
 
A partnership supported by Microsoft is also expanding access to AI tools for educators and students across the state.
 
Summers described this as a different kind of infrastructure. Not physical infrastructure, but the systems that prepare students for the realities of the workforce they are entering.
 
Why the Business Community Matters
Parents are not persuaded by policy alone. They listen to employers.
 
That makes the business community a critical voice in this conversation.
 
Business leaders were encouraged to share how AI is being used in their organizations, partner with schools, and help shape how students understand the future of work.
 
The Work Ahead
Students in Idaho classrooms today will enter a workforce shaped by AI.
 
The responsibility now is to prepare them for it. Not just to use the tools, but to understand them, question them, and apply them in meaningful ways.
 
The future is not waiting. The work is already underway.
 
Brennan Summers delivered these remarks at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference on April 21, 2026. This blog post was prepared from a transcript using the help of AI.

What does AI adoption actually look like for organizations that don’t have massive tech budgets or dedicated innovation teams? That was the central question behind the “AI Transformation in Practice: Small Steps, Big Impact” panel at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference.
 
Moderated by Michael Ballantyne of TOK Commercial, the panel brought together leaders from three very different sectors: Mayor Trevor Chadwick of the City of Star, Christina Hardesty of Amalgamated Sugar, and Rachel Attebery of Diode Ventures. What emerged was not a conversation about cutting-edge AI breakthroughs, but something more practical: how organizations are actually getting started, where they are seeing value, and what it takes to move from curiosity to implementation.
 
Start Small, but Start
Across industries, the panelists described a similar entry point into AI: not a sweeping transformation, but a single, practical use case.
 
At Diode Ventures, Attebery shared how she used Microsoft Copilot to build a full presentation—complete with audience-specific messaging and interactive elements—in a fraction of the time it would normally take. The value was not just speed, but perspective. AI helped tailor the content to what early-career engineers actually care about, drawing on patterns far beyond any one person’s experience.
 
For the City of Star, the starting point looked different. Chadwick described using AI to sift through hundreds of pages of development documents, pulling out the critical information needed for decision-making. In a resource-constrained environment, that kind of efficiency matters.
 
His takeaway was simple: the barrier to entry is lower than most people think. Start anywhere. Even basic tools can unlock meaningful time savings.
 
Legacy Systems Meet Modern Tools
For Amalgamated Sugar, the challenge is not whether to adopt AI, but how.
 
Hardesty offered one of the most grounded perspectives of the panel. The company operates facilities that are decades old, some more than a century. Before AI can even be considered at scale, there is a more fundamental issue: connectivity and infrastructure.
 
“We have to build the foundation before we can even move up,” she explained.
 
That reality shapes everything. Rather than pursuing large-scale transformation, the company is embedding AI into existing capital projects—like upgrading equipment or control systems—where the investment is already planned. It is a slower path, but a more realistic one.
 
Efficiency Is the Common Driver
Despite their differences, all three panelists pointed to the same underlying motivation: efficiency.

• For local government, it is about doing more with limited staff and shrinking budgets. 
• For agriculture, it is about surviving a difficult market while controlling costs. 
• For infrastructure developers, it is about enabling entirely new capabilities at scale. 

 
AI promises efficiency, but it also requires upfront investment. The challenge is determining where that investment delivers meaningful return.
 
Infrastructure Is the Limiting Factor
Attebery shifted the conversation from applications to what makes AI possible in the first place: infrastructure.

Three components stood out:

• Power: AI systems require enormous amounts of energy. 
• Data centers: Physical facilities are needed to house computing hardware. 
• Fiber: Connectivity is essential to move data between systems. 

Her message was clear: the future of AI is not just about software. It is about whether regions like Idaho can support it.
 
Culture Matters More Than Tools
One of the most practical insights had little to do with technology itself.
 
Hardesty emphasized the importance of identifying internal champions—people willing to take ownership of AI efforts. Without that, AI remains an abstract idea.
 
Chadwick echoed that sentiment, noting that adoption in Star was driven by team members bringing ideas forward.
 
A Shift That Feels Familiar
Chadwick compared AI today to the early days of Wikipedia. The information is powerful and fast—but it still requires human judgment. Outputs need to be checked. Critical thinking becomes more important, not less.
 
The Advice Was Consistent

• Start small 
• Be realistic 
• Focus on problems, not tools 
• Learn from others 
• Just start 

 
Michael Ballantyne, Trevor Chadwick, Christina Hardesty, and Rachel Attebery delivered these remarks at the Boise Metro Chamber’s 2026 Regional Leadership Conference on April 21, 2026. This blog post was prepared from a transcript using the help of AI.
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​Copyright & Usage Notice
All content on this blog and website, including but not limited to text, photographs, graphics, and other materials, is the intellectual property of the Boise Metro Chamber and is protected under applicable copyright and intellectual property laws, except for third-party trademarks, logos, and other materials, which remain the property of their respective owners. No portion of this content may be used, reproduced, modified, distributed, displayed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior express written consent of the Boise Metro Chamber. Unauthorized use of this content is strictly prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal liability. The Boise Metro Chamber reserves all legal rights and remedies available under law. To obtain such consent, please contact [email protected] and [email protected]