AI program ‘invigorating’ state IT workforce

Massachusetts Chief Information Officer Jason Snyder said the state’s artificial intelligence program, which includes five projects being developed by students from Northeastern University, is bringing new IT professionals into the state’s technology department. Snyder said 30% of the IT department’s staff are over the age of 60 and that many of them are set to retire. But the success of the projects led through the AI program have been so successful, he said, that the state has hired eight of the 12 students involved. “So not only is it helping us from an AI perspective, and an innovation perspective, we’re also bringing in new workforce talent and invigorating the organization,” Snyder said.

This video was recorded on Oct. 1, 2024, at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers annual conference in New Orleans.