As states adapt and integrate AI technologies into their regular workflows, Georgia is among the latest to proactively train public sector employees to responsibly use AI tools. The AI training program will be a free resource designed to equip employees with the skills, confidence and literacy needed to effectively utilize AI while protecting sensitive data and assets.
Georgia already has standing guidance in place outlining a series of standards and values required to maintain responsible AI usage and accountability. Incorporating the guidance into regular workflows requires employees to label and double-check all generated content for accuracy, hallucinations and bias.
However, while these standards are in place, employees still lack the resources and training needed to uphold them. Agencies have already been experimenting with AI tools have run into roadblocks due to inadequate direction for how to best use them to their full capability without compromising network integrity.
Through the “Responsible AI for public professionals” course series, employees will benefit from hands-on training and guardrails to learn the fundamentals of AI implementation. This includes learning AI literacy, risk awareness, privacy protections, prompting basics and determination of when AI tools should and should not be used. Advanced, specialized training courses will be introduced after employees understand the ground rules and functions.
The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) has determined that AI integration can accelerate productivity and streamline workflows without displacing workers. However, to use these tools effectively, employees need to understand the possibilities and limits of AI and how to mitigate risks.
Georgia’s efforts to establish a structure to develop an AI-skilled workforce are among the latest in a national push to further integrate emerging technologies to enhance government operations. In October, New York launched its own pilot to teach AI fundamentals to state staffers through hands-on experience in a classroom-style setting. As AI technologies continually develop and grow in sophistication, states are finding that ensuring their employees are properly prepared and trained is imperative, not optional.
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