State CIO outlines pilots for AI tools, says state has no written bias policy

Bill Smith, the State Chief Information Officer, told the Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee on Thursday that the executive branch is testing a series of artificial intelligence tools for internal use and public-facing services while prioritizing data protection and compliance.

Smith said the state will pilot an Office Software Assistant — an AI feature embedded in licensed office products that can summarize email and meeting transcripts and draft messages — and use Copilot Studio building blocks in the cloud to create targeted services. "We are getting ready to start releasing in a small pilot way," Smith said of the Office Software Assistant, adding the state will measure returns on investment over the next several months.

The nut of Smith's presentation was that the state is focusing first on use cases that solve clear problems and on tools that operate inside Alaska's cloud environment and security controls. "AI is really good at solving problems and puzzles. It's not good at solving mysteries," Smith said,…