Public Safety Department Begins Examining AI in Earnest

Texas Department of Public Safety CIO Bryan Lane said recently that his agency started “really looking at AI” and “became acutely aware” of it with ChatGPT’s entrance.

With that, the agency started building an AI center of excellence with Amberle Carter, the DPS enterprise data officer, as chair.

Thinking what could be done safely from an AI perspective and what would allow the agency “to dip our toes in that water, we started talking a lot about document generation,” he said.

“A part of public safety [is] … all things go to the general manual,” Lane said. “To remind everyone: With the law enforcement structure, [it] is key to how we execute our mission of protect and serve Texas.

“So the first thought was: Well, lets run our general manual through this, and see if we can drive modernization throughout that document … that’s the first step.”

Next, DPS is considering how AI and automation will help fill department vacancies by speeding up hiring processes. These include:

• Improving job descriptions and job postings
• Sifting through hundreds of applications to surface the most qualified people
• Looking at best practices from across law enforcement agencies and compiling them
• Shortening the onboarding process, including acquiring employee equipment
• Creating training and development

“My vision is from those applicants, can we use ethical ways of prioritizing and ranking them and then go aggressively after those individuals who are floating to the top,” Lane said. “One thing I think we all deal with in state agencies is the time it takes to hire someone and onboard them or bring them and then put them to work.”

He spoke as part of a panel discussion at the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) annual conference, during which IT leaders discussed how AI could positively impact the state workforce and practices.