Collaboration to advance AI in the public sector can help government build capacity to find solutions and address risks. The private sector can share information on AI use, and convening experts can help entities tackle the complex challenges the technology poses.
The state’s new AI Workgroup will be led by Gail Galusha, director of data and AI governance at the New York Office of Information Technology. It was established by the New York State Forum (NYS Forum) and announced Friday. NYS Forum is a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing and improving the state’s public-sector IT work through a collaborative model.
The workgroup’s steering committee, from the public and private sectors, will include people from state agencies and private-sector companies.
Members of the group have three clear directives. The first is to forge a greater understanding of AI technologies and their applications. The second is to encourage responsible and ethical AI practices, which include improved data and cyber literacy as pertaining to AI. Third, the group is mandated to provide tools and strategies for state government to implement AI.
AI technology was previously a focus of the NYS Forum’s existing Business Innovation and Emerging Technology Workgroup, but due to the rapid advance of AI technology, officials deemed a specifically dedicated workgroup necessary.
“Technology is constantly evolving,” NYS Forum Executive Director Fran Reiter said in a statement. “In order for the Forum to fulfill its mission of bringing public- and private-sector technology leaders together to enhance government’s IT operations, its programs must also evolve.”
In Friday’s news release, NYS Forum encouraged its members who are interested in taking part in the AI Workgroup to do so.
This is not the only AI-focused workgroup. In June, Arkansas launched a working group to study AI and make recommendations to the state on AI-related policy. Connecticut also established an AI Working Group in June 2023 through the governor’s signing of Public Act 23-16. And, at the federal level, an AI working group in the U.S. Senate helps guide the legislative process.
