Huntington Business John's Crazy Socks Joins LIA AI Training Program and John Cronin Is Already Maki

John's Crazy Socks, the Huntington-based social enterprise co-founded by John Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and his father Mark X. Cronin, has been accepted into the LIA-AI Growth Academy, a free artificial intelligence training program for Long Island small businesses funded by Google.org and delivered in partnership with the Long Island Association and Stony Brook University.

The program selected 50 small businesses from Nassau and Suffolk Counties. John Cronin is the only participant with Down syndrome.

John and Mark attended the first session on May 19th. When program leaders opened by asking participants what they wanted the curriculum to cover, John stood up.

He told the room he already uses AI tools every day. He said he wanted to make sure the program would address how people like him can use those tools and that AI needs to be accessible to everyone, including people with differing abilities.

Program leaders responded immediately and seriously. Multiple leaders assured John that accessibility would be part of the curriculum.

"We want the machines to do what the machines can do, so they free up humans to do what only humans can do," said Mark Cronin.

John's Crazy Socks was founded in 2016 and has grown into a global brand, shipping to 94 countries and donating over $800,000 to charity partners including Special Olympics and the National Down Syndrome Society. More than half of the company's employees have a differing ability.

The LIA-AI Growth Academy runs through September 2026, culminating in an in-person session at Stony Brook University. Participating businesses that complete the program receive a $5,000 grant to implement AI tools.