Pennsylvania’s State Government Has Announced It Will Integrate AI into Its Operations. Here’s the Lesson Business Owners Can Get from This.

Politicians in the United States differ widely on the issue of artificial intelligence, but the state of Pennsylvania seems to be optimistic about the technology.

After all, Pennsylvania’s governor Josh Shapiro recently announced that the state government will be using A.I. in its operations.

There are several proposed bills for how the state ought to use A.I. Possible uses include fraud detection and screening applicants to government programs for eligibility.

For business owners, Pennsylvania’s plans for incorporating A.I. offers an important lesson for how to integrate what is the most transformative technology of the 21st century.

How Will the Pennsylvania State Government Use A.I.?

As mentioned, fraud detection and determining eligibility for applicants are among the stated possible uses.

In the first example, A.I. will play the role of detecting anomalies that may signal fraud within a system. For instance, if someone logs into a public servant’s email account from the state of Wisconsin, the system will likely flag it as an anomaly and submit it to the security team for further review.

The great thing about A.I. in this use case is just how quickly it can detect anomalies and alert proper human authorities about its findings. Also, how A.I. is well-equipped to oversee Big Data, which can include data on the networks that state employees work on. Being able to look at the activity of a large number of accounts, as if with the all-seeing eyes of Argus, is one of the major draws of A.I. in governments seeking greater security during the digital transformation.

For determining eligibility for applicants to government programs, things can be a bit trickier. The big challenge that the Pennsylvania state government will face here is ensuring that proper steps are take to mitigate the problem of bias in approving or denying applicants in the selection process.

A solution here involves a team of human A.I. experts who actively monitor the A.I. platform’s work, assess its bias levels, and take steps to enhance the A.I. platform while ensuring that an oversight committee corrects any errors caused by the A.I.

What Are Pennsylvania’s Other Plans for A.I.?

In addition to the use of A.I., the Pennsylvania state government will be measuring the impact of A.I. on its state.

For the smooth implementation of A.I., the state is hiring A.I. experts to overlook the use of A.I., and help develop training programs for employees who will be working with A.I.

The Lesson for Business Owners

Just as a state government is wide-ranging and has many of processes within its overall operations, businesses also have many areas where automation can come into play.

The big lesson is this: A.I. has wide-ranging applications for an organization that can cover more than one process or area. Considering this, a business owner should explore the various ways to implement A.I. into their operations. Here is a general rule to follow: A.I. can help you improve just about any area and process of your business.

Business owners can also use A.I. for security in fraud detection and screening applicants for jobs or programs that you may offer. However, the same caveats apply about the latter, so if you are serious about using A.I. for screening applicants, you will want to invest in A.I. consultation services.

Another page to take out of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s book is to not just stop at using A.I., but to actually take notes of its impact on your company. The closer you study the technology’s use in your company, the better you will be able to use it.

Pennsylvania’s consultation of A.I. experts is another great example, as business owners should certainly consider consulting A.I. experts if they plan on using the technology.

The Current State of A.I. Regulations Outside of Pennsylvania

As the federal government moves toward creating a comprehensive legal framework for regulating A.I. on a nationwide scale, states across the country are responding in their own way.

For instance, Governor Gavin Newsom of California recently passed an executive order that is centered around the studying of A.I.’s impact on the state. This can be a particularly influential move, as A.I. leaders like OpenAI (the creator of tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E) are based in California, the home of Silicon Valley.

The federal government is expected to make big strides in A.I. regulations by December of 2023, which should put in motion a range of laws that tighten the development, implementation, and use of artificial intelligence.