内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2025/cascadias-ai-paradox-a-world-leading-opportunity-threatened-by-rising-costs-and-a-talent-crunch/

内容总结：

一份最新报告指出，位于北美太平洋沿岸的卡斯卡迪亚地区虽具备成为全球负责任人工智能领导者的潜力，却同时面临制约其发展的系统性挑战。该区域涵盖美国西雅图、波特兰和加拿大温哥华三大都市，在科技创新领域展现强劲实力与广阔前景。

这份由卡斯卡迪亚创新走廊组织发布的报告显示，该地区经济总量若合并计算已接近全球第18大经济体，过去十年间GDP与人口增长显著。其核心竞争力来自微软、亚马逊等云技术巨头、俄勒冈州的芯片制造产业、温哥华的量子创新研究，以及华盛顿大学、不列颠哥伦比亚大学等顶尖高校的科研支持。

然而在争夺人工智能主导权的进程中，诸多隐忧逐渐浮现：持续攀升的商业成本与复杂的税收政策、不断恶化的住房可负担性、波特兰技术人才外流、西雅图对外籍技术工人的过度依赖，以及因干旱导致水电供应紧张、数据中心激增引发的能源压力等困境正制约发展。

面对全美范围内人工智能领域的激烈竞争——新泽西州投入5亿美元启动"AI登月计划"，纽约州设立"帝国AI联盟"，加州建立政企协作机制——西雅图市政府虽于今秋推出"负责任AI计划"，但报告强调，要实现突破仍需三地协同作战。

"若不能有效整合我们在云计算、半导体和学术研究领域的优势，我们将错失历史机遇。"报告最后发出警示，"唯有携手共进，卡斯卡迪亚才能在这场全球竞赛中抢占制高点。"

中文翻译：

一份最新报告对太平洋西北地区能否成为全球负责任人工智能领导者提出了矛盾的观点。该报告指出，涵盖西雅图、波特兰和温哥华的大卡斯卡迪亚地区虽被证实是该领域充满希望的竞争者，但其成功之路正面临重大风险。

前州长克里斯·葛雷格尔在报告序言中写道："我们曾创立改变全球商业格局的企业，如今有机会再续华章——让卡斯卡迪亚成为创新标杆，推动人类与地球的协同发展。"由葛雷格尔担任主席的卡斯卡迪亚创新走廊组织于今日发布该报告，并同步启动为期两天的年度会议，这是该经济倡导组织在西雅图举办的第八届年度活动。

本研究基于波士顿咨询集团的分析报告，从宜居性、劳动力资源、商业与创新环境等经济竞争力维度，将卡斯卡迪亚三大都会区与北美15个同类区域进行对比。西雅图位列第四，仅次于波士顿、奥斯汀和罗利，波特兰与温哥华分别排名第13和第14位。过去十年间，该地区国内生产总值与人口数量显著增长，若将三地经济总量合并计算，已接近全球第18大经济体。

报告分析称，该地区的优势包括华盛顿州的云服务巨头微软与亚马逊、俄勒冈州的硅芯片制造、温哥华的量子技术创新等科技引擎，以及华盛顿大学、不列颠哥伦比亚大学和俄勒冈州立大学的卓越学术资源。

然而随着各方争夺人工智能主导权，体系中的裂痕正日益凸显：
• 企业成本持续攀升与监管压力日益加剧形成复杂局面：以西雅图为例，市政府常依赖商业运营税和人力税弥补开支，而华盛顿州则在缺乏所得税的情况下艰难维持预算平衡
• 三大都会区住房可负担性持续恶化
• 技术人才正持续流失（尤以波特兰为甚），西雅图则过度依赖特朗普政府时期政策不稳定的H1-B签证外籍劳工
• 昔日充沛的清洁廉价能源正在缩减——干旱导致水电坝河流水量减少，而数据中心激增又推高电力需求

报告指出，北美多地已斥资数亿美元打造人工智能中心，新泽西州推出包含税收优惠与公务员AI培训的"AI登月计划"；纽约州"帝国AI联盟"在布法罗大学设立AI计算训练中心并扶持初创企业；加州则成立公私联合工作组推动政府服务AI化，建立科技领袖与政府机构的对接机制。

作为应对，西雅图市长布鲁斯·哈雷尔今秋公布"负责任AI计划"，为市政人工智能应用及AI科技产业经济发展提供指引，包括早前推出的AI初创企业孵化器AI House与Foundations项目。

但该地区要实现真正突破，亟需整合所有都会区的资源优势协同发展。卡斯卡迪亚创新走廊报告强调："教训显而易见：若不能通过协调战略联通我们在云计算、半导体和研究领域的优势，我们将面临落后风险。唯有协同行动，卡斯卡迪亚才能稳立潮头，执掌牛耳。"

英文来源：

A new report exploring the potential for the Pacific Northwest to stake its claim as the global leader in responsible AI offers a paradoxical view. The Cascadia region, which includes Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C., is described as a proven, promising player in the sphere — but with significant risks that threaten its success.
“We created companies that transformed global commerce,” writes former Gov. Chris Gregoire in a forward to the document. “Now we have the chance to add another chapter — one where Cascadia becomes the world’s standard-bearer for innovation that uplifts both people and planet.”
The Cascadia Innovation Corridor, which Gregoire chairs, released the report this morning as it kicks off its two-day conference. The economic advocacy group’s eighth annual event is being held in Seattle.
The study is built on an analysis by the Boston Consulting Group that ranks Cascadia’s three metro areas against 15 comparable regions in the U.S. and Canada for their economic competitiveness, including livability, workforce, and business and innovation climate. Seattle came in fourth behind Boston, Austin and Raleigh, while Portland ranked 13th and Vancouver 14th.
Over the past decade, the region’s gross domestic product and populations have both grown significantly, and when combined, their economies approach the 18th largest in the world.
Cascadia’s strengths, the report explains, include tech engines such as cloud giants Microsoft and Amazon in Washington, silicon chip manufacturing in Oregon, and quantum innovation in Vancouver, as well as academic excellence from the University of Washington, University of British Columbia and Oregon State University.
But as time goes on and as business and civic leaders aim for the prize of AI dominance, cracks in the system are increasingly troubling.

• Business costs are rising and there are mounting regulatory concerns — but it’s a tricky picture. Seattle, for example, often turns to B&O and headcount taxes to cover costs, while the state struggles to balance budgets in the absence of an income tax.
• Housing affordability is continuing to decline for many residents in these metro areas.
• Skilled tech workers are leaving Portland, in particular, and Seattle relies heavily on foreign workers receiving H1-B visas, which are less certain under the Trump administration.
• The clean, affordable energy that was once abundant in the Pacific Northwest is decreasingly available as droughts reduce river flows that drive hydropower dams and electricity demand increases with rapid data center growth.
  The report notes that multiple regions around the U.S. and Canada have created AI-focused hubs with hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private funding to bolster their hold on the sector.
  New Jersey has a half-billion dollar “AI Moonshot” program including tax incentives and public-worker AI training programs; New York’s “Empire AI Consortium” has an AI computing training center at the University of Buffalo and startup supports; and California has a public-private task force to increase AI adoption within government services and connecting tech leaders with state agencies.
  For its part, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a “responsible AI plan” this fall that provides guidelines for the municipality’s use of artificial intelligence and its support of the AI tech sector as an economic driver, which includes the earlier launches of the startup-focused AI House and Foundations.
  But what the region really needs to succeed is a collaborative effort tapping all of the metro areas’ assets.
  “For Cascadia, the lesson is clear: without a coordinated strategy that links our strengths in cloud computing, semiconductors, and research, we risk falling behind,” states the Cascadia Innovation Corridor report. “Acting together, we can position Cascadia not just to keep pace, but to lead.”