ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A.I., AS IT'S KNOWN, ARE REAL.

AND OUR NEXT GUEST HAS TO DEAL WITH THE THREATS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES.

THIS IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSIONER TOMES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME.

SO, YOU GAVE MAYBE THE MOST RIVETING TESTIMONY OF THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION SO FAR.

AND YOU ERE ASKED TO REVEAL WHAT THE STATE IS DOING ON A.I.

AND YOU'RE DOING A LOT.

GIVE US YOUR BEST SUMMARY.

>> WELL, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE RIVETING PORTION.

>> Mary: NOBODY KNEW THIS, HONESTLY, I DON'T FEEL LIKE LAWMAKERS OR THE PUBLIC KNEW THIS, THOUGH.

>> WELL, IT'S AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT OPIC AND CERTAINLY PERVASIVE IN ALL CORNERS OF OUR SOCIETY.

THERE'S BEEN SOME BREAKTHROUGHS, SOME INNOVATION, THIS NEW TERM, GENERATIVE A.I., HE ABILITY TO GENERATE EW CONTENT AND ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT AND I MENTIONED HIS WITH THE TAX COMMITTEE IS, YOU KNOW, IN OUR HISTORY OF MAN KINDE -- MANKIND, IF YOU WILL, REALLY, ONLY ANIMALS AND HUMANS HAVE CREATED NEW CONTENT.

NOW WE HAVE THIS NEW GENERATIVE A.I.

CAPABILITY THAT IS ALSO CREATING NEW CONTENT, NEW SONGS, NEW VIDEOS.

>> Mary: IT'S THAT BIG, THAT IMPORTANT.

>> IT'S THAT BIG, THAT IMPORTANT.

>> Mary: AND YOU'RE NOT WAITING AND STUDYING IT AND HOLDING BACK LIKE STATE GOVERNMENT DOES.

YOU'RE IN IT.

EXPLAIN HOW YOU'RE IN IT.

>> I DON'T THINK WE CAN AFFORD TO WAIT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE REALLY EXPECT AND ARE DEPENDENT ON THE VITAL SERVICES THAT GOVERNMENT PROVIDES.

AND IF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE A BREAKTHROUGH IN TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES FASTER, TO PROVIDE -- >> Mary: LIKE WHAT?

>> PROVIDE FOOD BENEFITS QUICKER.

WELL, AN EXAMPLE IS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, IN OUR DRIVER AND VEHICLE SERVICES SPACE, WE HAVE AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED BOT CAPABILITY THAT SPEAKS SOMALI, HMONG, SPANISH AND ENGLISH AND ALLOWS PEOPLE TO NAVIGATE SERVICES THAT THEY PREVIOUSLY WERE ALWAYS DEPENDENT ON OTHER PEOPLE TO NAVIGATE.

>> Mary: ALREADY IN USE.

>> ALREADY IN USE.

BEEN IN USE FOR SIX MONTHS AT LEAST.

>> Mary: WHERE ELSE, WHAT ELSE WOULD SURPRISE US?

>> WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT HIS TOPIC IN TWO BROAD LANES.

ONE IS, HOW DO YOU EMPOWER A WORKFORCE WITH THESE CAPABILITIES TO REALLY ALLOW THEM TO HAVE THE POWER IN A SAFE WAY TO DO THEIR JOBS, OFTENTIMES JOBS THAT HAVE WAY MORE DEMAND THAN WE HAVE CAPACITY.

>> Mary: YEAH, WE HAVE A LABOR SHORTAGE.

WE HAVE NEW STATE AGENCIES TO STAFF UP.

IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY, RIGHT?

>> NO.

PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS ARE WORKING INCREDIBLY HARD.

WHEN YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THESE TYPES OF CAPABILITIES TO YOUR WORKFORCE, AND THEN LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS THE SERVICE SIDE OF IT.

AND I THINK A.I., ONE OF THE THINGS THAT RIGHTFULLY IS MENTIONED FREQUENTLY, BUT THERE'S A PRETTY BROAD SPECTRUM, EVERYTHING FROM THE EXTREMELY CONCERNING AND SCARY IN TERMS OF NEW LANGUAGE MODELS BUILT ON DATA THAT HAS NOT NECESSARILY BEEN VERIFIED AND CONCERNED ABOUT THE OUTCOMES, BUT THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF SAFE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN LEVERAGE A.I.

IN A WAY THAT IS NOT CONTROVERSIAL.

>> Mary: THE INTERESTING PART, BECAUSE IN THE NEWS MEDIA, WE'RE MAYBE MORE ON THE SCARY SPECTRUM.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> Mary: ABOUT MISINFORMATION.

AND JOBS REPLACED.

SO TALK ABOUT THE SCARY STUFF AND AREAS YOU ARE NOT USING IT AND DO NOT ANTICIPATE USING IT, YEAH.

>> MARY, WHY DON'T I START WITH THE NONSCARY SIDE.

SO WHEN YOU THINK OF THE WORK, FOR EXAMPLE, TECHNOLOGISTS THAT ARE COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS, YOU MAY HAVE A 50% GAIN IN EFFICIENCY BY LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES TO CO-GENERATE CODE.

>> Mary: THAT'S A LOT, 50%, YEAH.

>> THE FIRST INITIAL GENERATION OF DRAFT DOCUMENTS, PROBABLY AT LEAST AN 80% INCREASE IN JUST BEING ABLE TO DRAFT NEW DOCUMENTS.

>> Mary: WHAT ABOUT WHEN IT'S WRONG AND OFF AND SCARY?

THAT PART, YEAH.

>> THE HUMAN STILL HAS TO STAY IN CONTROL.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAY AT EVERY CORNER, WE HAVE A POLICY THAT COVERS ALL EXECUTIVE BRANCH WORKERS IS THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL AT THE INTERSECTION OF MAKING DECISIONS.

USE THESE TOOLS, USE THESE TOOLS TO SUMMARIZE INFORMATION, USE THESE TOOLS TO CREATE DRAFTS, BUT THEY'RE STILL DRAFTS.

LET THE HUMAN FINISH THE DRAFT.

>> Mary: SO YOU HAD A CHART OF WHERE A HUMAN TOUCHES IT.

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

>> Mary: AND A COUPLE OF AREAS THAT HAS TO STILL BE HUMAN.

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

>> Mary: WHAT ABOUT THAT PART?

>> I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE NAVIGATE THE SAFE SPACES BUT THAT WE DO IT IN A REALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY.

THAT'S WHY THE GOVERNANCE, HOW YOU COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC, YOU SHARE WITH THEM WHERE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS BEING USED AND WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS, WE'RE EALLY, I THINK, ARE REALLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES.

>> Mary: YEAH.

LAST TOPIC, CYBER ATTACKS, UNITED HEALTHCARE BASED HERE IN MINNESOTA JUST AT THE WHITE HOUSE, WHAT DO YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

>> WELL, T'S REALLY DIFFICULT.

I MEAN, THE FIRST THING I THINK THAT HAS TO BE UNDERSCORED AND RECOGNIZED IS THAT UNITEDHEALTH GROUP, OR CHANGE HEALTHCARE WAS THE VICTIM OF A CRIME.

THAT THEY WERE THE VICTIM -- >> Mary: PEOPLE COULDN'T GET THEIR MEDICINE.

>> OF A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND WHAT IT REALLY UNDERSCORES IS THAT THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF CRITICAL SERVICES THAT, YOU KNOW, MAKE UP THE TAPESTRY IN OUR COUNTRY REALLY CAN BE AT RISK.

AND SOMETIMES YOU HAVE A VENDOR OR A COG IN THAT SUPPLY CHAIN WHEEL THAT WHEN THEY FAIL OR HEN THEY'RE THE VICTIM OF A CYBER EVENT AND THEY CAN'T RECOVER, MANY PEOPLE SUFFER.

>> Mary: WE'RE OUT OF TIME.

WE COULD DO A WHOLE 'NOTHER TALK ON THAT.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

OUR NEXT FRESHMAN LAWMAKER WAS A NEW MOM HAD SHE BECAME A NEW