State IT Leader Speaks on Staying Abreast of AI

“Don’t be a bad robot, be a good human,” Steve Pier said during a recent panel discussion on AI, quoting from a presentation he'd attended several years ago.

Pier, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), spoke as part of a panel discussion at the recent 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.

Pier pointed out that AI has existed for many years and won’t replace critical thinking, creativity, influence or empathy, all human attributes of strong leadership. Leaders will need to use these skills to implement AI in an ethical manner, cognizant of privacy and various surrounding issues.

In a follow-up email interview, he answered four questions about staying abreast of AI developments.

Industry Insider — Texas: As part of the executive leadership of DIR, how are you keeping up with the AI landscape?

Pier: AI is a constant topic of conversation at DIR. Our chief technology officer works closely with our colleagues in other agencies to collectively address some of the concerns. Lastly, groups like GovTech*, NASCIO and of course TASSCC are great resources as well.

IITX: What reading recommendations or resources would you like to share with our readers?

Pier: Whatever ChatGPT generates. I kid, I kid. I am a huge fan of The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. Not being a technologist, they are great resources for understanding where the industry is and what others are concerned about. For more technical and specific needs, I turn to Gartner. They have a treasure trove of resources.

IITX: How can vendors help address the needs of state agencies who have questions and concerns?

Pier: I think we can all benefit from understanding the protections put in place from their own AI use cases and sharing what their experiences have been. This is all moving so fast, we need to be able to learn best practices from each other.

IITX: How have you been trying out new iterations of generative AI?

Pier: Like everyone else, I am enamored with ChatGPT. Being careful only to use data open to the public, it is cool to experiment with prompt engineering and see the differences in results based on the different inputs. It can be quite a rabbit hole.

*Note: Government Technology and Industry Insider — Texas are both part of e.Republic.