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Watchdog Report: State Needs to Get Up to Speed on AI

A new report from the state Little Hoover Commission says state government has not kept pace with national, state and even city governments on organizing efforts to address the implications of artificial intelligence.

California is not prepared for the growth of artificial intelligence in its labor market, according to a new report from the state Little Hoover Commission.

"California’s state government has not kept pace with national, state and even city governments on organizing efforts to address the implications of AI," the watchdog agency's report reads. 

"For California government, the first task is to help educate and inform policymakers in state government, including within the executive branch and departments, agencies and commissions, on how algorithms are created, tested and used," it continues. 

The report gathered information about the state's preparations and stakeholder concerns, defining AI as labor force automation.

"Although the proliferation of innovation in the AI field will impact and ultimately transform the labor market, the extent and timing of such impacts remains unclear."

But LHC researchers hope that as legislators become more educated about AI, California can set the pace.

"Given its extraordinary intellectual and innovation resources and, as the fifth-largest economy in the world, California has the opportunity to marshal not only its public and private resources to immediately begin addressing the implications of AI, but to begin taking advantage of AI to enhance services to Californians and become the world leader in adopting thoughtful policies to ensure AI positively impacts the state’s economy and, more importantly, all of its constituents."

While many stakeholders expressed a fear of job losses, the LHC report predicts that more jobs will change. It also sees an evolving definition of what constitutes work.

"A general consensus exists among experts that lawmakers, educational institutions and private-sector policymakers must act quickly to influence not only the impact of AI on employment, but to propel California as a leader in the transition of the labor force as a result of AI and accelerate statewide economic prosperity emanating from AI," the report reads.

In response to concerns about job losses, the report recommends that the state sponsor research and development in AI, as well as policy adoption "addressing the impending new workforce demands," including training across all demographics and skill levels. One suggestion is to work with nonprofits and to train jobless people in AI.

"Provided it could expediently implement workforce training and retraining policies, the state should prioritize collaborations with stakeholders," the report reads.

The report recommends that:

  • The governor appoint an AI adviser who's focused on a strategic plan to coordinate institutions and incorporate AI across job markets
  • Chief AI officers be appointed for each state agency, department and office
  • Strategic plans for AI incorporation be done by all state agencies, branches and educational institutions
  • Data collection on jobs and job skills be expanded 
  • An AI commission be created to help implement AI and data science in state government
  • The state work with stakeholders to foster AI development
  • Job training and apprenticeships be expanded 
The report also recommends the following for public-sector business practices:

  • Industry-based standards of disclosure and explanation of algorithms (including relevant data sources and programming assumptions and any risks of bias due to the demographics of the human programmers) aimed at improvements in design and implementation to avoid unwarranted bias
  • Legally mandated disclosure or algorithm explanations of varying detail
  • Public-sector procurement rules, including selected use of open source mandates for some state contracts
  • Sector-specific rules with focus on the risks in the most sensitive fields such as criminal justice, health and matters affecting privacy
  • Assignment of a pre-market approval role for some or all AI-related products
The report predicts that AI use in the public sector will affect health care, environmental policies, education and emergency responses. It cites privacy, bias, job loss, and a lack of skills as risks of oncoming AI developments.

Kayla Nick-Kearney was a staff writer for Techwire from March 2017 through January 2019.