A study released last week by the Public Technology Institute shows that while the majority of city and county IT leaders are developing AI policies, 38% say they feel their organization is not prepared for use artificial intelligence tools safely and productively.
The institute, which is owned by the nonprofit Fusion Learning Partners and offers a variety of resources to local governments, found that only 9% of respondents said their organizations were “fully prepared” to use AI safely and efficiently. Seven percent said their organization was not considering using AI at all.
When asked about the challenges of AI, the top three concerns cited were security, privacy concerns, and a lack of skills needed to use the technology effectively.
While AI has been widely used for many years for predictive functions and time-saving measurements at all levels of government, the arrival of new generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, in late 2022 has pushed Many public sector IT managers are looking for ways to streamline processes and eliminate tedious work. The most popular uses of AI cited in the survey were customer service chatbots, automated document generation, and enhanced data management.
The institute also asked local IT managers if they were taking steps to mitigate negative effects on their staff. Fifty-three percent said they are developing AI policies and governance frameworks, 29% said they are collaborating with AI researchers and industry experts, and 7% said they are they were evaluating potential job cuts and recruiting strategies. But 40% say they have done nothing to mitigate the potential effects of AI on their workforce.
Across state government, chief information officers and other IT leaders are hopefully turning to generative AI as a way to reduce the burden on some of their most tedious processes. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers last October published a report noting that with careful application, generative AI can be used to improve states’ complex public procurement processes. As in the PTI report, some of the top uses of AI cited were chatbots and automated document processing.