Chief AI officer role is ‘part strategy, part operator, part change leader’

A growing number of states are hiring officials whose primary job is to ensure the considerate deployment of artificial intelligence. In Oklahoma, that’s Tai Phan, who last November was named the state’s first chief artificial intelligence and technology officer. Phan said the role is unique because AI is infused into all aspects of his state’s enterprise technology. “This is one sport, if you will, that requires everybody to be involved: legal, procurement, risk, cybersecurity, policymakers. We’re increasingly seeing a need to get those leaders involved early on because the decision for AI should be done collectively, and it does take a village to drive the transformation well,” he said on the Priorities Podcast. “This role is no longer a technical role, at least in Oklahoma. It’s part strategy, part operator, part change leader.” Phan said building trust around AI is also a key part of the job, a challenging task, but also one that’s “fun to do.”

This week’s top stories:

Several state technology officials last week brought before a House Homeland Security subcommittee a request that Congress reauthorize funding for the expired State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program and renew cybersecurity programs inside the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that have been decommissioned under the Trump administration. Colin Ahern, New York State’s director of security and intelligence, said “our states are on the front lines of multiple cyber conflicts, yet we are being asked to manage nation-state risks while our federal partners step back.”

The Trump administration’s Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council is proposing one of the most significant restructurings of federal disaster response in decades, a shift that could dramatically expand the responsibilities of state and local emergency management agencies. A report published by the council this month calls for expanded communications systems and new systems for tracking assets across the various levels of government.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed an executive order directing agencies to prepare workers, small businesses and the public for the potential economic disruption brought on by artificial intelligence. The order directs agencies to study potential labor market shifts tied to AI adoption, including layoffs, hiring changes and skills gaps.

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