December 5, 2023 — Executive Board Member Prakash Lal recently organized a week-long in-person training for PEF members working for the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) through the Public Service Workshop Program in Albany. The training, which ran the week of November 13, focused on teaching members the Python programming language. A specialized instructor from the United Kingdom taught the class of 14 participants: Participants Anderson Orchid, Diane Boyd, Nick Castaldi, Gregory Gerling, Xiaojing Hu, Susan Johnson, Prakash Lal, Daniel Leo, Bethani McCauslin, Cedrick Pinder, Michal Prestipino, Engels Rojas, Temidayo Sokunbi and Tomomi Watanabe-Hudspath.
“Python is a very popular and general-purpose programming language,” Lal said. “It is used for many purposes including data analysis, web development, cyber security and especially for artificial intelligence.”
PEF has been at the forefront regarding artificial intelligence and its impact on the State workforce. In October, Lal and OITS colleague and Executive Board member, Chris Ford, testified before a joint State hearing on AI in the Workplace.