As government officials look to artificial intelligence to boost public agency power in such areas as policing, citizen engagement and
procurement, tech officials in Mississippi hope to spark more innovation around the technology.
That’s according to state CIO Craig Orgeron.
“I think the state’s a little behind” when it comes to AI, he told
Government Technology at the recent
NASCIO 2024 Annual Conference in New Orleans.
But that doesn’t mean he or his colleagues are standing still.
He has formed what he calls a two-pizza team inside his agency to work in AI — two pizzas referring to what it takes to feed those employees.
He also is working on an executive order for the governor that would help define the AI roles with the state — that is, “directing us to pull players together to do that work,” Orgeron said.
“It will be very similar to what you see in other states,” he said, adding that the state House and Senate already have two technology “chairpersons,” further evidence that the state is ready to make tech and AI advances in the near future.
That move comes as the state looks to hire fresh tech talent — a challenge faced across the country, and
one that will occupy Orgeron during his ongoing tenure as CIO.
Thad Rueter writes about the business of government technology. He covered local and state governments for newspapers in the Chicago area and Florida, as well as e-commerce, digital payments and related topics for various publications. He lives in Wisconsin.
Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including <i>Government Technology</i>, <i>Governing</i>, <i>Industry Insider, Emergency Management</i> and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.
