Why Ohio Ranks #1 for Business and Talent

Are AI tools replacing operations teams, or unlocking capacity for employees to do more meaningful work? Tom Bush and Stuart MacDonald sit down with Elise Meyers, Director of Talent Operations and Analytics at JobsOhio. Elise breaks down how JobsOhio deployed internal AI tools to automate complex statements of work, saving weeks of back-and-forth without cutting headcount, plus "vibe coding" dashboards with Claude, $15,000 relocation incentives and technician pathways, and why empowering non-technical operators is transforming productivity.

Guest: Elise Meyers, Director of Talent Operations and Analytics, JobsOhio

In this episode:

• Why Ohio is ranked #1 for doing business, and its talent strategy of relocation incentives and tech apprenticeships

• How internal AI tools slashed SOW creation from weeks to minutes

• "Did you fire anyone?" The real impact of AI on employee roles

• Uncovering hidden vendor bottlenecks with AI data analysis

• Vibe coding: creating HTML dashboards and Python GUIs without coding skills

Connect with Elise:

LinkedIn:   / elisemeyerswalker  

JobsOhio: https://www.jobsohio.com

AI Ready Ohio: https://www.aireadyohio.org

Recorded live at Columbus AI Week (Sept 10–11, 2026), produced by the Enterprise Technology Association with JobsOhio: https://www.joinaiweek.com/columbus

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The actual reality of AI in the real world. Hosted by Tom Bush, CEO of Actual Reality Technologies, and Stuart MacDonald, award-winning magician and AI consultant.

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🌐 Website: https://actualreality.show

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📚 Stuart's book, Putting in the Work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFKV5848?...

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