In New Jersey, using AI starts with empowering employees

Despite artificial intelligence’s potential to transform government, few public sector employees know how to use it, which means agencies could miss out on yet another technological revolution.

And despite being major funders of technological innovation, governments are often late adopters of technology and are precluded from major advancements in efficiency, productivity and job satisfaction. But that is not the case in New Jersey, where nearly 10,000 state employees are being trained in how to safely and responsibly leverage AI to improve government services, with more joining their ranks each day. While New Jersey has taken an early lead, other states, and governments at all levels, can follow its example.

Public sector employees are eager to learn about AI. We know because we asked them. Earlier this year, under Gov. Phil Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to launch a comprehensive survey of its state workforce to understand its views on AI.

More than 5,000 state employees responded, and their wishes were clear. While 88% of those surveyed knew little about AI and 79% said they did not use AI tools, they indicated a keen interest to learn. Seventy-three percent said they were eager to learn how to use these tools in their work, and the majority were optimistic about the technology’s potential.

But turning that optimism into results depends on empowering workers. AI, like any other technology, is just a tool. Without skilled workers trained in their use, tools and their incredible potential will go unrealized.

To realize the full potential of AI, or any other technology, to improve government, we must start with training employees — the dedicated public servants who are closest to the programs and the residents they serve.

As Jennifer Pahlka, founder of the civic tech nonprofit Code For America, writes in her book Recoding America: “Government knows how to acquire technology. What we need to acquire are capabilities.”

That need is why Gov. Murphy made a nation-leading commitment to train the state’s workforce in how to responsibly use AI to deliver the best possible service to the people of New Jersey.

In July, New Jersey launched a training program designed to teach state workers how to harness the power of AI and ensure that any use of it is safe, secure, respectful of residents’ privacy, free of bias and in line with state policies. Workers also learn how to spot what Princeton computer science professor Arvind Narayanan calls “AI snake oil,” the overhyped tools that do not perform as advertised.

The online training, developed by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission in partnership with InnovateUS, is free, voluntary for all state employees and can be completed at an individual’s own pace. A similar version of the training is freely available at Innovate-US.org for any public sector employee.

This investment in upskilling would not  have been possible without first engaging New Jersey’s public-sector workers. This approach guided our training efforts and the state’s AI Task Force, which recently released detailed recommendations for how New Jersey can ensure AI serves as a tool to enhance government services, improve workers’ lives and expand economic opportunities.

Rather than use a top-down process, we surveyed public and private sector workers to ensure this technology is used to empower workers and serve residents. We encourage other states to follow New Jersey’s lead as projects often fail when they are mandated from above. For any technology to succeed, employees must play a role in shaping how it is developed, tested and used to support their missions.

Working with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Office of Innovation has used AI to help rewrite unemployment insurance program emails in plain language. As a result, residents have been responding 35% faster, speeding up the benefits process.

At the ANCHOR property tax program call center, the New Jersey Division of Taxation is using AI to analyze calls and generate better self-service menu options, leading to a 50% increase in the number of successfully resolved calls.

More than just training to learn a specific technology, we must promote a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. A lifelong learning mindset will help ensure the government workforce can continue to leverage new tools as it emerges and continues to improve service delivery.

The stakes could not be higher. With trust in government at near historic lows, government must do better. Fortunately, we have the technology to make it easier, more convenient and less stressful to access critical government services.

Just as the State of New Jersey developed and launched a training for all state employees to leverage AI, we can do so again for the next emerging technology. As our survey showed, employees are eager to learn, so let’s provide them with the learning opportunities they seek. The future of democracy may very well depend on it.