philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

AI Readiness Project opens doors to state governments

The project's organizer called it a way for states to “move from curiosity to capability” and gain “a trusted place to learn, experiment and lead.”

The project expands the CCF’s previous AI work, led through its state chief AI officer community of practice, with $500,000 in new funding from Rockefeller intended to “professionalize” the practice, as one executive with the philanthropy put it. The project was born from a growing sensethat many state and local governments, after having spent several years, or sometimes longer, drafting AI policies and taking inventory of datasets, are prepared to step up their efforts and begin testing AI tools at a larger scale and for a wider array of government functions.

Technologies classed as “AI” have been under development and in use in government agencies for decades, but it was the commercial release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 that spurred interest in large language models and widely renewed interest in exploring what additional tasks software might automate. Cass Madison, CCF’s executive director, said the renewed interest among state and local government leaders has led to a “wide variation in capacity, maturity, and risk tolerance” among states when it comes to AI. ...

See the full story here: https://statescoop.com/ai-readiness-project-ccf-state-local-government/