David

Still reflecting on our @FountainHeadRI AI & Data Infrastructure Summit in Rhode Island. One theme kept coming up in every room, especially the keynote by @ArnellMilhouse , intelligence is now a permanent operating expense. The numbers make the point: Token prices are down 70% this year, and AI bills still went up. Uber used its entire 2026 AI budget in four months. The top 1% of companies spend about $8K per employee per month on AI. Chinese models went from 4.5% to 55% of OpenRouter traffic in 18 months. A single gigawatt of data center capacity now costs $40B+. I’ve been around the data center space since 2007. In every cycle, someone bets that efficiency will kill demand, It never has. Cheap tokens don’t mean cheap AI, they mean a lot more AI. The companies, and the states, that win will be the ones that own the power, the routing, and the sites.

Thank you, @wpri12 for the spotlight and interview following Phase II of our @FountainHeadRI AI & Data Infrastructure Summit in Rhode Island. We covered power, capital, compute and policy, but one theme rose above everything else: PEOPLE! We built the summit as a safe, comfortable space to talk honestly about AI, where a CEO, a student and a policymaker could all ask the hard question out loud. Not hype, not fear but Curiosity & critical thinking, the ethos of what our organization has been about for over a decade. The big question: is AI a complement to people, or a substitute? The Luddites feared machines would replace workers, instead, for 250 years, technology has freed people to do more productive work. AI can follow that arc, driving productivity and pushing down costs so the median family comes out ahead. But that is not automatic, too often the gains have been captured by a few. So we should keep asking any dominant player: why do you have a monopoly? And as AI gets better at imitating people, human judgment matters more, not less. The most valuable skill in this economy is asking good questions and challenging the answers. Rhode Island’s advantage is not to chase the crowd. It is to be deliberate, build on our strengths and put our people at the center. This transition will be judged by how many Rhode Islanders it lifts, and whether they felt welcome in the conversation. Grateful to everyone who brought an open mind and a hard question. @CommerceRI @TimWhiteRI @BillBartholomew @BostonGlobe @TedNesi @DanMcGowan @FitzProv

Appreciate the shoutout, @IanDon. Market jitters and AI agents in bank accounts aren’t reasons to sit out the AI era, they’re reasons to build it right! That’s what 10/23 was about; real infrastructure, trusted governance, RI talent, the core equation to compete, build & win oceanstatemedia.org/politics…

Thank you to the hundreds who came out to make our @FountainHeadRI Phase II AI & Data Infrastructure Summit possible. Recaps and insights coming in the days ahead. Biggest takeaway: There’s nothing artificial about AI. It’s inspired by people, created by people, and most importantly impacts people as said by the great @drfeifei @RepGabeAmo @SANDRISCANO @GoLocalProv @ArnellMilhouse @JimLangevin @BryantUniv @universityofri @CommerceRI

I’ll say it again: Rhode Island is not waiting on the sidelines of the AI revolution. We have the infrastructure, the talent, and the leadership to compete at the highest level. On Oct 23, we prove it. Full Press Release Here: einpresswire.com/article/949… Phase 2: AI & Data Infrastructure Summit: summit.fountainheadri.org @BillBartholomew @projo @DanMcGowan @GoLocalProv

I left Rhode Island to learn. I never left to leave. Dubai. Paris. Washington. New York. I built data centers, delivered a landmark public-private partnership, and founded and sold a company. I sat down with @KevinMutiso on his Let The Cake Bake Podcast to share what I learned along the way. Good ideas don't belong to one party. The farmers and mill owners we served didn't want subsidies. They wanted to turn waste into value. Integrity is the linchpin. Trust is the only currency that lasts, in business or in public service. Economic development is singles and doubles. Everyone chases the big headline, small companies are what keep the big ones here. Keeping businesses matters as much as attracting them. Small in land & BIG in ocean. Rhode Island is the only place in America where the Navy designs undersea systems, submarines get built, offshore wind comes ashore, and a startup builds flying boats. All within 30 miles. Kenya and Rhode Island have more in common than you’d think. Both are betting their future on the blue economy. Both are home to restless entrepreneurs. Kenya hosted the world’s first global conference on the sustainable blue economy. Ocean State, meet the Swahili Coast. Our size is our advantage. A founder can sit down with the Governor, If any state can move fast on hard problems, it's ours. Show up. For your community, for your neighbors and for your state. Kevin, I'm so impressed by what you've built with Let The Cake Bake. Thoughtful, global, and full of builders. I'm confident @davidsenra of the Founders podcast would be too. Full conversation: youtube.com/watch?v=5hcVcQw5…

Proud to see this coming together! What started with a few conversations is turning into real site visits and a potential project, that is how this work is supposed to go. The Ocean State didn't get its name by accident, and hosting @EcoWavePower_ & @InnaBraverman here in Rhode Island is about turning that identity into infrastructure, proving that the smallest state can lead the biggest conversations about the future of ocean energy. Looking forward to Newport Futures Forum on the 24th! prnewswire.com/news-releases… @CommerceRI @RepGabeAmo @EnergyRI @SenWhitehouse

Had a great time co-hosting the inaugural @FountainHeadRI Leadership Exchange in NYC with many executives, founders, and community leaders talking candidly about the trends reshaping leadership today, emphasizing AI risk (deepfakes, agentic security threats) and AI opportunity (physical AI & robotics). Different cities and passionate leaders uncovering blindspots and having candid conversations, all building up to our 10/23 Phase 2 AI Summit in @CityofProv , you will not want to miss it: eventbrite.com/e/fountainhea… @PVDMarriott @ArnellMilhouse @CommerceRI

The future showed up to Rhode Island last night. AI, robotics, and the infrastructure conversation that will define the next decade, all in one room! @FountainHeadRI @CommerceRI @davidwalmonte @FitzProv @GoLocalProv @TedNesi