Advancing Responsible AI Adoption and Use in the Public Sector: Three Policy Priorities for State Legislation

Advancing Responsible AI Adoption and Use in the Public Sector: Three Policy Priorities for State Legislation Public agencies increasingly rely on AI to deliver public services like education, housing, public benefits, and healthcare. As state governments expand their investment in this technology, it is critical that they do so in ways that encourage responsible use. The following three policy priorities, along with emerging state legislative examples, are important steps toward establishing meaningful, robust practices around trustworthy and safe AI use. Three Policy Priorities for State Legislation Legislation should require that, when adopting AI, public agencies mitigate risks, stand up durable decision-making structures, and increase access to vital information. Risk Management: Implementing the following robust guardrails on high-impact uses that affect individuals’ rights or safety ensures that AI tools are well-vetted before and during their deployment, which protects the public and government agencies from potential harms: - Establish heightened requirements for high-impact systems, such as pre- and post-deployment assessments, human oversight, emergency protocols, and independent accountability. - Incorporate AI governance requirements in contracts with government service providers, such as contract provisions requiring risk management practices and data privacy protections. - Require public consultation throughout the AI lifecycle, including before agencies deploy high-impact tools, and include representation from civil society, academia, and impacted communities in state-wide task forces. - Direct agencies and government-wide personnel offices to develop and administer employee training on the responsible use of AI tools, including privacy and cybersecurity protections. AI Governance: Creating the following durable, centralized leadership structures for overseeing AI use and deployments helps agencies make the best use of their resources and coordinate AI projects across agencies: - Establish centralized oversight and leadership structures by designating an office and/or chief AI officer (or another equivalent senior leader) responsible for managing the state’s use of AI, including creating acceptable use policies for AI tools and promulgating rules necessary to implement statutory provisions. - Create a government-wide AI governance board to guide statewide AI governance priorities. Transparency: Providing the public with the following clear, accessible information about the AI tools used by government agencies builds public trust and facilitates effective oversight: - Establish public AI inventories that document and disclose how AI is being used, tested, and governed across all state agencies, and require that they are updated on a regular basis. - Institute notice and disclosure requirements for public-facing AI tools, including explanations about why and how an outcome was determined or influenced by an AI system. Emerging State Legislative Examples States across the political spectrum are enacting new guardrails that enable safe, trustworthy AI use by public agencies: - Maryland’s SB 818 imposes strong guardrails on state agencies’ uses of AI, requiring agencies to conduct impact assessments and publicly report about any high-impact AI systems. The bill also establishes the Governor’s Artificial Intelligence Subcabinet, which is responsible for developing policies and procedures for state agencies to conduct ongoing monitoring of AI systems. - Kentucky’s SB 4 establishes a comprehensive approach to public sector AI governance. Its requirements include directing the Office of Technology to establish standards for the responsible use of AI (including risk management policies for high-impact AI systems), establishing an AI Governance Committee, requiring agencies to publicly disclose their use of AI, and creating an AI inventory. - Texas’ SB 1964 creates a strong government-wide framework for public sector AI use and oversight. The bill’s provisions require the Department of Information Resources to inventory AI systems deployed by state agencies, require state agencies to adopt risk management and governance standards for high-impact AI systems, and direct the Department to establish an AI code of ethics that addresses human oversight, accuracy, privacy, and security. - Montana’s HB 178 establishes some key safeguards around how public agencies use AI. This includes requirements for government agencies to disclose the use of AI, human review obligations for high-impact systems, and a prohibition on the use of AI by government agencies for cognitive manipulation, social classification, deception, and surveillance in public spaces. For more info on CDT’s efforts to advance state legislation that governs AI use by public agencies, visit https://cdt.org/area-of-focus/equity-in-civic-tech/ai-in-public-benefits/ or email Travis Hall at [email protected].