New AI task force convenes state and local officials
By Sophia Fox-Sowell | StateScoop
The Washington, D.C., nonprofit The NewDeal Forum on Monday announced a new task force that will include state and local elected officials, and subject matter experts, to explore AI’s potential to improve government services.
The task force will focus on identifying ways artificial intelligence can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, particularly in state and local government. It’s also intended to establish guidelines to ensure responsible AI use, protecting privacy and preventing bias. Its members will also address AI’s role in elections, with a focus on ways to combat malicious activities such as the spread of deepfakes that threaten voter confidence and democratic processes.
“In the midst of rapid expansion of the uses of generative AI, the technology provides extraordinary potential for state and local governments to transform public services, making them more efficient, responsive, and accessible,” Debbie Cox Bultan, the nonprofit’s chief executive, said in a press release. “Our new task force will work on ensuring public policy maximizes the benefits of these advancements and that new technologies are used fairly, equitably, and ethically.”
The group’s new AI task force also plans to provide information and guidance to state and local elected officials to develop responsible AI deployment plans.
The nonprofit’s leaders said the task force takes inspiration from President Joe Biden’s executive order last October, which outlined eight guiding principles and priorities for AI use. They said the new group is a recognition of the large role state and local governments play in passing legislation and implementing AI into government services and operations.
“The states are, you know, the laboratories of democracy, and we can try out different things while the federal government picks it up,” New York state Rep. Alex Bores said during an online panel discussion Monday.
In March, The NewDeal Forum published a report on AI and voting that outlined best practices for mitigating the negative impacts of AI in the near term, as well as principles for AI-focused legislation.
