For AI projects, California’s CIO wants agencies to consider benefit, value, cost

California is approaching the two year anniversary of Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a landmark executive order in September 2023 designed to organize the state’s governance of artificial intelligence technologies. Almost two years on, state Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins says the state’s use of AI is “moving forward” but that she’s encouraging agency heads to think carefully about the solutions they choose. 

She says she’s encouraging agencies to consider the “benefit, value and cost” of AI products, and to also consider technologies that don’t use AI.

Bailey-Crimmins says in a video interview with StateScoop that the state has conducted ten proofs of concept that can now be scaled up for wider use. These include AI tools to improve operations of transportation management, traffic safety and knocking down language barriers in a state where some 200 languages and dialects are spoken. 

She also pointed to Gartner research showing that an overwhelming majority of software is expected to include some form of AI by 2026. Bailey-Crimmins said she wants to ensure that agencies can accelerate the process of using those tools effectively, especially if the state is already paying for licenses for software suites with AI capabilities, like Adobe’s and Microsoft’s.