Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence
DIR recently announced the formation of the Texas Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AI-CoE) to accelerate innovation and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This effort will help support state and local governments and public institutions of higher education explore artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to foster digital transformation.
The primary objective of the AI-CoE is to educate and evangelize emerging AI technologies to improve the delivery of government services to Texans in a secure and efficient manner.
For the purposes of this initiative, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, and Natural Language Processing all fit within the AI umbrella.
The AI CoE is an educational endeavor, leveraging subject matter experts (SMEs) and working directly with agencies to help them manifest their AI CoE. Each CoE would be positioned to explore AI opportunities and to develop a digital workplace that promotes automation as outlined in the state strategic plan. As stressed previously during the cloud adoption launch, it's critically important that this initiative is not to do the work for the agency but rather to coach the agency through the learning process – that is to say "teach the village to fish, not feed the village.
- Confirm the ability to leverage Service Now Idea ticket to document agency's interests.
- Establish a cloud sandbox limited support environment – Azure, AWS and GCP.
- Identify current project/RFS to deploy a new service and confirm staff commitment from agency.
- Identify current project/RFS to automate infrastructure or application tasks and confirm staff commitment from agency.
- Outreach to applicable vendor partners to provide SME support and guidance.
- Confirm availability of DIR resources from CTO, COO, CFO, CPO and OCISO.
- Incorporate AI into DIR offered managed services.
- Assist agencies in developing an AI strategy and roadmap.
- Provide agencies with required AI tools and training guidance.
- Opportunity to conduct Proof of Technology, Proof of Concepts, Proof of Value and increase AI adoption.
- Accountable and ethical AI Governance and Legislative guidance.
- Technical coaching on how to architect a low code AI and ML model.
- Help develop Process Design Documents (DD) to document business processes to be automated.
- Operationalizing the AI to enhance business and strategic goals.
- Business coaching on AI governance with an emphasis on ethical AI.
- Build a core team based on resources that are willing to engage.
- Define trigger point for team activation (everyone will still have their day job!).
- Construct playbook for best practices to be used while providing services, ie: system use cases, test materials, how to materials/guides/ etc.
- Identify current projects that are candidates and promote availability to customers.
- Socialize the need for practical ethics governance and pursue its creation from the beginning.
The AI-UG provides a forum where Texas public sector stakeholders will have the opportunity to engage with fellow members and the vendor community on various AI topics. The members of the AI-UG and invited vendor speakers and presenters will have diverse expertise to drive the discussion on the current and next generation AI technologies.
• Public sector: to join the forum fill out the Artificial Intelligence User Group Form.
• Vendors: if interested in participating in various AI-UG initiatives fill out the Vendor interest form.