Texas Chief Information Officer Amanda Crawford said at a technology conference Monday that privacy and data literacy considerations are key to the state's implementation of generative artificial intelligence, which is still in the exploration stages.
Crawford said the state's Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board, which includes Crawford and members of Congress, academia and government agencies, has met twice since it was established in June 2023. He said that
“What we've done is really looked at what the concerns are and how we can safely introduce them within government. I'm excited to be able to put this potential technology to work,” Crawford said in an interview at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers' midterm conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
Crawford said the concerns the council is considering include bias, privacy, security and constitutional protections. To address privacy concerns, the state's chief privacy officer is working closely with security and data teams within the state Department of Information Resources to ensure that privacy principles are a top consideration in new IT projects. he said.
“We are building a technology innovation and education center that operates under the Office of the Chief Technology Officer,” she said. “And we're looking for proofs of concept to bring in people from the corporate community to talk to agencies and actually do hands-on labs where people can actually go in there and investigate, These challenges for upskilling employees are not just about AI: What's the next emerging technology? Because we know there's more to come. It's just a repetition.”
Crawford said another important part of Texas' AI rollout is ensuring state officials and policymakers are familiar with data best practices. DIR is achieving this through its data literacy program, which was launched in October 2022 and has grown in popularity on YouTube since then, she said.
“So our goal behind this is [data literacy program] “We were trying to help business leaders and decision makers understand the power of data, the value of data, and the importance of data management and governance,” Crawford said.
Crawford said he expects the council to complete an AI inventory and develop a plan for usage guidelines by this fall.
“We want to ensure accessibility and ensure that everything we design is not only human-informed, but designed with residents in mind.” Mr. Ford said.
