In a report published Tuesday (March 25), the Alabama AI Task Force included a number of policy recommendations to utilize generative artificial intelligence, including mandatory training for state employees and the creation of an oversight board.
Established by Gov. Kay Ivey in early 2024, the task force was charged with producing a report with recommendations on how state agencies could best use GenAI to improve efficiency. GenAI is an advanced subset of AI that can generate content often indistinguishable from human-generated content, and has the ability for advanced and dynamic pattern recognition.
“Here in Alabama, we’re booming with growth; from big businesses moving to Alabama, to rebuilding infrastructure and cutting-edge research, Alabama is staying on top of the game and will continue to be an industry leader, especially in the ethical use of artificial intelligence,” Ivey said Tuesday in a statement.
Key recommendations
In the 42-page report are 10 key recommendations, the majority of which center around establishing guardrails for responsible use of GenAI, such as adopting the National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework for any GenAI use in the state, establish a Technology Quality Assurance Board to oversee GenAI usage in the state, and launch a GenAI training program for all state employees.
Rep. Mike Shaw, R-Hoover, a member of the AI Task Force, said he was impressed with the report, and was pleased with the lack of explicit proposals for new laws around GenAI, calling it a “good, tactical response” to the emerging technology.
“A few of the states have had a very reactionary response to (GenAI) and have passed these huge laws that I think without thinking it through, and that’s going to have serious implications for their competitiveness in the marketplace,” Shaw told Alabama Daily News Tuesday. “No laws came out of this; as lawmakers, we’re always chomping at the bit to make laws, but I was kind of glad to see (that) we’re really just analyzing to see what it means for state government.”
The task force also found that a majority of Alabama state agencies did not currently use GenAI, with 104 of the state’s 139 agencies reporting no use of the technology. Most use cases were limited to text generation, translation, coding and problem solving, the report found.
However, the task force noted that more than 70 vendors in the private sector contract with various state agencies, and that it was difficult to determine whether vendors utilize GenAI.
Office of Information Technology Secretary Daniel Uruhart, who chaired the task force, said that the body’s four meetings held last year allowed the state to get a grasp on the potential risks and benefits of GenAI, and thanked Ivey for the opportunity to head the task force.
“On behalf of the GenAI Task Force, I am pleased to present this report aimed at helping to educate, facilitate, and provide strategic recommendations for the effectual and ethical implementation of GenAI for the state of Alabama,” Uruhart said in a statement.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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