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Gov. Greg Abbott this year signed into law House Bill 2060, which created the council and was sponsored by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-98, and Sen. Tan Parker, R-12.
Capriglione addressed AI concerns and the government’s role in addressing these at the August State of Technology Texas Industry Forum. The state representative for about 185,000 residents in Tarrant County authors much of the state legislation touching technology and chairs the Texas Innovation and Technology Caucus.
He discussed the continuing arc of responsibility that technology brings, emphasizing that he sees Texas as a leader in technology governance and policy enabling tech growth. Capriglione referenced state partnerships in creating high-tech career pipelines, the Department of Information Resources (DIR) shepherding cybersecurity best practices and, with AI in the forefront, creating this council.
Capriglione said he envisions “starting off with definitions and then working on reasonable ways that … the government should be using artificial intelligence.” The conversation is and will continue to be about data privacy, as in, “How did you train your AI? Where did you get that data?” he said.
State CIO Amanda Crawford touched on the AI Council during the August Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) conference, alluding to ways state agencies might harness AI for constituent services while addressing concerns about data privacy and ethical use. Customer service and tracking constituent trends were on the list.
Crawford outlined council membership, which will include a senator and a House representative, the state CIO or her designee and four academics — an ethics specialist, an AI specialist, a law enforcement specialist and a constitutional law specialist.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the seven-member council will study and monitor all AI technology developed, employed or procured by state agencies.
The council is also charged with assessing the need for an AI code of ethics in state government, reviewing automated decision systems, evaluating risks and benefits associated with automated decision items and recommending administrative actions for state agencies to ensure AI systems are thoughtfully and ethically developed, as previously reported.
All state agencies will create an inventory of their automated decision-making and related systems.
“I think that this [legislation] is a really good clue for us on what state leadership is looking at and concerns they might have around AI,” Crawford said.
