Government and AI

A Quicktake:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology capable of analyzing massive amounts of data and generating various forms of content, such as text, graphics, and art. Consequently, AI has the potential to revolutionize government functions and save taxpayer money. Tasks like tax collection, property tax assessing, school bus dispatching, student assessment, court scheduling, and police resource allocation can all be automated by AI. This automation reduces costs and improves efficiency.

Leadership and AI

Adopting AI in government requires strong leadership. Embracing technology is essential, and while concerns about job displacement are valid, efforts can ensure a smooth transition for affected employees. Therefore, the goal is to maximize automation while protecting privacy and balancing AI with human intelligence.

Government and AI Leadership

Leadership plays a crucial role in implementing AI solutions. By utilizing AI, leaders can lower service costs and deliver excellent governmental services. This benefits hard-working families and seniors alike. Consequently, the government’s role is to serve the collective and provide fair opportunities for all citizens. As AI technology advances, leaders must prioritize adaptation and resource allocation to support those affected by job disruptions, ensuring a fair outcome for everyone.

Demystifying AI

Artificial intelligence refers to super powerful computers that gather and analyze vast amounts of data. They then generate text, graphics, reports, and even works of art, such as poems, songs, movies, and visual art. Essentially, AI attempts to function like a person in these areas. We are already accustomed to Google housing all the world’s data and Facebook batching data about our attention to direct products and information at us. This data has been collected and sold to third-party companies. Soon, AI will process all that data and present it on the internet, in inboxes, and in apps, making it indistinguishable from human-generated content.

Government and AI Efficiencies

Many government functions are routine and can benefit greatly from AI. For example, tax collection, although highly structured and important, is often handled by narrow fiefdoms. Each of New Jersey’s 564 municipalities has a tax collector who is experienced, skilled, and credentialed. However, the vast amount of work in collecting taxes is purely ministerial. AI can easily automate it. With approximately four and a half million parcels of real property in New Jersey, AI can streamline the process by collecting and applying payments, distributing them across local government, school budgets, and county budgets.

Embracing AI Technology

To fully harness AI’s potential, leadership at all levels must embrace and deploy this technology. If focusing solely on tax collection seems limiting, consider other government functions that AI can automate to save taxpayer money:

• Property tax assessing
• School bus dispatching
• Student assessment
• School enrollment
• Allocating educators and classroom resources
• Gathering and reporting student achievement data
• Scheduling and tracking court appearances and dispositions
• Allocating police officers based on activity volume
• Reviewing and accessing police video

Clearly, countless non-obvious uses for AI can improve service and save costs. If elected, I will keep an open mind and strive to maximize automation while protecting privacy and balancing concerns that AI will supplant human intelligence.

Learning from Leadership

In 1990, Gov. Jim Florio gave the keynote speech at my college graduation at Rutgers University. Despite being reviled for raising sales taxes and highway tolls, Florio is now remembered as a hero for standing up and doing what had to be done. He believed that a lack of trust in leaders stems from leaders not trusting the people. Florio added to the conversation around trust in government:

“It is too easy today for those who are supposed to lead to complain about the lack of trust, respect, and confidence that so many people feel toward government. Instead, a leader has to see this crisis of confidence for what it really is: A two-way street. For if people don’t trust leaders, I suggest it’s because leaders have stopped trusting people.”

The Role of Government

Touching Social Security is often deemed the political third rail. People have paid into Social Security, and it’s unfair to yank the rug out from under them. The government’s role is to avoid such gross unfairness. Conversely, it is unfair to hard-working families and seniors living on fixed incomes not to utilize the best technology to lower the cost of delivering excellent governmental service. This may mean stepping on a few toes and making some good and hard-working government officials uneasy about their jobs. Ultimately, the government exists to serve the collective and provide everyone a fair shake. If technology enables five qualified professionals to do the job of 100, it is governmental malpractice to stand in the way of progress.

Government and AI Future

As AI rolls out more and better tools, the government must adapt. This adaptation should create more opportunities for the best and brightest governmental executives. Ample resources should ensure a soft landing for those displaced, enabling them to take advantage of this wave. People whose jobs are disrupted by technology deserve the same fair shake entitled to all citizens.