San Jose CIO Tawfik on ‘Championing Safe and Responsible AI’

As part of Industry Insider — California’s ongoing efforts to inform readers about state and local agencies and their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of One-on-One interviews with IT leaders. Responses have been lightly edited.

Khaled Tawfik assumed the role of San Jose chief information officer in April 2022, following a nearly six-year tenure as CIO for the city of Irvine. He stepped into the role with nearly 25 years of IT experience in both the public and private sectors.

He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Irvine, and a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering from St. Mary’s University in Texas.

Tawfik spoke with Industry Insider — California about the transformative impact of advanced data analytics programs in driving more informed decision-making in government services. He also elaborated on the process of establishing a robust foundation for artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to enhance service delivery, and shared his insights on the most surprising developments in the government technology landscape over the past year.

Industry Insider — California: Can you tell us about your background and how it prepared you for your current role?

Tawfik: I grew up in a large family, being one of five kids. I was always eager to help and fix things around the house. My passion for helping others was influenced by my mom who worked as a psychologist in a hospital, and my father, a health-care and human rights legal advocate. From a young age, my family deeply valued ideals like equity, inclusion and helping others, which significantly shaped my character and leadership style.

I began my career as an engineer in the private sector before transitioning into the public sector. The shift allowed me to lead using my technical expertise while maintaining equity and inclusion as my guiding principles. I’ve advised Fortune 500 companies on streamlining operations, supported startup companies, and held senior IT positions at the county of Los Angeles and the city of Irvine. These past experiences, combined with my upbringing, have allowed me to develop a leadership style that builds upon strong organizational skills with a passion for innovation and collaboration. I aim to infuse the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup with the stability and wisdom of government.

IICA: What big IT initiatives or projects are coming up? What sorts of developing opportunities and RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?

Tawfik: The San José City Council just approved the city’s first budget allocation dedicated specifically to advancing the use of artificial intelligence to improve services in the city. My team is very excited to continue our efforts to lead the GovAI Coalition with the founding agencies and help other cities implement safe and responsible AI solutions based on robust AI policies.

The city is also excited to focus on testing the possibility of using AI to enhance the safety of micromobility on our streets. In addition to testing the ability to detect potholes and trash, we are also focusing on refining the accuracy and efficiency of AI to detect road safety conditions. Our ultimate goal is to enable the implementation of AI technologies for detecting and mitigating obstacles for cyclists, scooter riders, and other road users before they become concerns. We have high hopes for leveraging AI to streamline routine tasks related to finding issues, allowing city staff to shift their focus from finding problems to fixing them and eventually increasing the response time and reducing costs.

IICA: In your opinion, what should local government be doing more of in technology?

Tawfik: In my opinion, advanced data analytic programs can help drive more informed decisions in government and build the foundation for artificial intelligence solutions for improved services. In addition, data sharing among government agencies can break the barriers between agencies and allow them to provide services in a seamless manner.

Also, resource sharing and collaboration can help agencies streamline services, promote accessibility regardless of service location, and reduce the overall time and cost needed to implement new solutions. For example, San José has evolved its SJ311 platform to provide a seamless integration between departments within the city.

311 requests can now be triaged to multiple departments at the same time to resolve concerns quicker and more efficiently to meet public needs. The same SJ311 system has the capability to expand triage requests to multiple agencies at the same time to address regional challenges or services spanning beyond defined jurisdictions.

IICA: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors? Are social media sites such as LinkedIn preferable? How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?

Tawfik: We are always looking for partners who can help us solve challenges using creative processes and solutions. Our priorities change from one year to another based on new City Council priorities, the economy, and emerging technologies. We publish our strategic plan to communicate our vision for the next three-plus years. In addition, we publish our annual work plan to communicate what we plan to implement in the next 12 months. Companies who take the time to learn about the city and propose a solution that aligns with our strategic and work plans frequently get my attention. Vendors should register to get notified when the city announces new opportunities.

If a vendor is looking to showcase specific capabilities using artificial intelligence, the first action I recommend is to join the GovAI Coalition and submit a Vendor AI Factsheet. This process allows the city to better understand how vendors plan to use AI in a safe and responsible manner that aligns with the city’s AI guiding principles and the 250 government members in the GovAI Coalition.

Interested vendors may contact the department’s public information manager, Chelsea Palacio.

IICA: Which IT project or implementation do you consider the most influential, in this role or in a previous position?

Tawfik: I am very proud of San José’s efforts in championing safe and responsible AI through establishing the GovAI Coalition. This coalition is the foundation of how San José looks to assess and evaluate AI technologies and further our knowledge with the help of other agencies across the country and soon internationally. San José would not be able to tackle AI alone. Our efforts as the presiding member sets the groundwork to implement safe guidelines and policies in government, which will allow vendors to develop their products with digital privacy as well as equity and inclusion in mind.

I also think our San José 311 program provides many opportunities as well. My hope is to use our AI and capabilities and the evolving 311 services to promote seamless government services. If you think of emergency services, you can call 911 anywhere in the county and the operator can connect you to the desired local service. Why can’t we achieve the same integration with 311 services?

IICA: What has surprised you most in government technology during the past 12 months?

Tawfik: The recent advances in generative AI and the adoption rate by consumers surprised me. We have been waiting for AI to mature one day and provide the desired results but did not expect to achieve accuracy progress for a while.

I was reminded of the power of sharing and collaboration in government. I’m proud of what the GovAI Coalition was able to achieve in less than five months and the demonstrated passion for advancing the use of AI solutions in government to improve services in the most responsible way possible. I was surprised by how quickly the GovAI Coalition has grown. While we believed that we were creating something that would bring a lot of value to government agencies across the country, I did not anticipate the level of commitment from our partners in the Coalition. I am proud of the GovAI Coalition and my team for leading the way to implement safe and responsible AI in government and I am looking forward to continuing efforts to grow the coalition and all the events and projects that will come from it.

IICA: What are your hobbies and what do you enjoy reading?

Tawfik: In my free time, I like to play and listen to music, travel and learn from the locals about their cultures, and find new coffee shops to try. I enjoy reading and learning about history and how we can apply history lessons to current events.

IICA: What would you consider the most important priority working in IT, i.e., is it cloud-first/migrating to the cloud, looking at opportunities in generative artificial intelligence, heavily focused on cybersecurity, etc.?

Tawfik: The most important priority working in IT is the security and privacy of the communities we serve. That is what I have my staff look at with every project we work on and every new technology we implement into city services. Everything we do is in response to what the community wants and needs, so putting the community first in our minds must be our priority.

Second would be cybersecurity, as we need to ensure that city operations can function without risk and that all our data remains safe and secure. IT staff must always be diligent to ensure the city can operate and provide services to our full efficiency.

Third would be how we can make our services operate more efficiently and proactively. We need to collect and evaluate the data we have on our services to understand the whole picture of the impact of the services we are providing. Once we understand the data, we must continue to test and evaluate new technologies to upgrade and provide the best city services possible to our community with equity, inclusion and accessibility in mind.

Artificial intelligence provides great hope to streamline services to be more proactive and efficient. However, AI isn’t the only answer to a more seamless government, and I am excited to continue working with agencies around the world to bring new technologies and solutions to San José.