Innovation, Adoption, and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (A Silicon Valley Perspective)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a defining technology of the 21st Century. Like the digital revolution on which it builds, AI over time will impact every industry, the competitiveness of both large and small companies, the provision of government services, and the personal lives of billions of people across the planet through health and other outcomes. How it is developed, deployed and governed is a matter of growing consequence for large and small businesses, private individuals, and their governments. 

A new white paper -- Innovation, Adoption, and the Governance of AI: A Silicon Valley Perspective – by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute provides a perspective on these questions from the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Bay Area, ground zero for the global AI revolution. The paper encapsulates insights gained from four forums organized by the Bay Area Council in 2024 and 2025 - programs that brought together experts from leading technology companies such as Anthropic, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google and Microsoft; California and global government leaders; experts in cybersecurity; and leaders in workforce development - to share their views on AI’s present and its future. The paper was first presented in Gyeongju, Korea on October 16 as part of the 2025 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and the Bay Area Council’s APEC Meets Silicon Valley program, which introduces APEC leaders to Bay Area perspectives on key emerging issues.

Discussions at the four forums centered on the impacts of AI and in particular on innovation, regulation, and the optimal balance between the two. In other words, how can AI’s benefits be accelerated through innovation even as governments and their partners in the private sector address the downside risks. Like the industry itself, the answers are evolving. 

ACCESS THE FULL WHITE PAPER HERE