THE BROOKINGS Institution, based in Washington, D.C., today released its report on Mapping the AI Economy, which posits that hundreds of U.S. cities and other regions -- including multiple Tennessee communities -- could earn bigger shares of the AI-driven economy, which is today still heavily anchored in the nation's legacy tech and venture hubs.

Moreover, says the report, advancing the AI segments of the interregional economies of Tennessee and other states would, over time, help nurture major tech metros, nationwide.

VNC strongly encourages readers who care about growing and sharing Tennessee prosperity to review the full Brookings document, its executive summary and the related online content.

Those documents lay out clearly the importance of interregional collaboration, while bowing recognition of the hurdles to be vaulted by all parties.

Mark Muro	Shriya Methkupally

In today's Brookings report co-authors Mark Muro and Shriya Methkupally explain two imperatives for achieving widespread economic gains from AI pursuits: First, "a robust national AI platform that boosts nondefense R&D funding; expands shared research and computational resources; accelerates AI cluster scale-up; streamlines innovation infrastructure investments; and funds AI curriculum development and research at higher education institutions. Second, the report articulates a region-by-region strategy that begins with regions' individual starting points and uses them to shape local AI research agendas, foster regional cluster development, and build local talent in ways that are oriented to local needs."

The authors say they believe their report reflects "the unfolding revolution across 387 U.S. metropolitan areas and assesses how the nation and local economies are positioned to create, apply, and harness AI."

Their methodology included calculating 14 benchmarks for each region's AI talent, AI innovation, and AI-adoption pillars. The resulting framework allows them to classify U.S. metro areas into six tiers of "AI economic readiness."

Nashville is cited on Brookings AI "map" as an "Emerging Center" and is labeled one of the nation's "breakout spots," due to its recent years' gains in tech talent and users' AI adoption.

Tennessee also has two "Focused Mover" cities, with Knoxville-Oak Ridge cited as a "talent specialist" and Chattanooga cited as a comer in the context of AI adoption.

On an interactive map of the nation accompanying the Brookings report's website, Memphis is categorized as a "Nascent AI adopter."

VNC notes that Memphis's status seems likely to be boosted further by such initiatives as xAI's ongoing Memphis data-center development (see related Daily Memphian coverage).

Coincidentally, the Brookings report was unveiled today, a few weeks ahead of the scheduled August 11 reconvening of the Tennessee AI Advisory Council, in Nashville.

VNC previously reported on the state's AI Advisory Council here. The Council's 2025 Status Report is here.

VNC today provided "Mapping the AI Economy" to AI Advisory Council staff, and others. This story will be updated as warranted.

VNC's previous coverage of other Brookings research is compiled here. VNC

.last edited 1715 16 July 2025