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August 5, 2024 —<\/em> \u201cGarbage in, garbage out.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlgorithms need to be transparent.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe need human oversight.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Those words were repeated throughout the night at the PEF IT Summit on AI in Albany on July 10, where union leaders, top officials from the state Office of Information Technology Services, and state legislators involved in technology and civil service issues gathered to discuss the current status of AI, visions for the future of AI in state government and operations, and what New York needs to do to adapt and thrive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are connecting all these people together to start a conversation,\u201d said PEF Statewide IT Committee Chair Radhakrishna Mohan. \u201cAI is already here. How are we going to catch up with that? How are we going to tackle this and how it will affect our jobs?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PEF President Wayne Spence, who earned a degree in the tech field before becoming a parole officer, recently met with union leaders from across the state to discuss AI and stressed the urgency of getting ahead of change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTechnology is evolving daily,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s literally every three months. Some of our skill set is antiquated. The infrastructure in New York is antiquated. How do we get the skill set that New York state needs? How do we do it before New York state sees the union as an impediment?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Spence said the citizens of New York are going to demand something better from elected leaders if the state workforce doesn\u2019t evolve. Existing AI is already showing signs of trouble \u2013 the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) model used in by parole officers has shown bias, as have student loan interest rate predictive algorithms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe better start taking a look at some of the unintended bias,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders is unique, said PEF Division 357 (ITS Statewide) Council Leader Christopher Ford.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have PEF, legislators, and people on keyboards that do this day to day,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is rare. This is not happening in many places. It\u2019s an incredible part of history.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Transparency and human involvement<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the director of ITS, Chief Information Officer Dru Rai recognized the contributions of PEF members and union leaders.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPEF members do outstanding work,\u201d he said. \u201cI know ITS could not begin to serve the people of New York without the relationship between this union and management and I look forward to improving that.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTech has never been as important as today and it is getting more important every day,\u201d Rai said. \u201cAI has been here for decades. It can compute at a rate people can\u2019t keep up with and do things faster than hundreds of people. The potential of AI, good or bad, is real.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rai stressed the importance of human involvement when AI is utilized.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs a human being it is our responsibility to get involved and oversee the direction AI should go in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want this technology to be transparent. It cannot be a black box. Algorithms need to be transparent. Human bias can be built into AI and we have to tackle this. That means we get engaged and we cannot back off.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The \u201cgarbage in, garbage out\u201d warning applies across the AI field. Rai said it will be key to know what data is being fed to AI and to ensure there is a human in the middle because \u201cthe accuracy of AI is still questionable.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Training staff on AI will be crucial to prepare the state workforce to work with evolving tech.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy commitment: We will be hiring more. We will be training more. That includes all of you,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are two ways we can go in New York state: You buy it or you build it. At this point, we are buying it. I need more people trained on AI.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n State ITS Deputy Chief Data Officer Christopher O\u2019Connor said communication, collaboration, and transparency will be crucial to AI regulation and use in the coming years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a village to move forward,\u201d he said. \u201cAI is a team sport. Policy, user experience, technology, procurement, we need to look at every aspect of government. Generative AI is important globally. We have been using it for decades, but it has more recently captured the attention of the public.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In January, ITS established an AI working group, which now includes 45 members, many of whom were in the room. There is also an interagency AI working group, established in 2023, that provides input on use cases, checks on policies, and identifies any gaps, O\u2019Connor said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome AI comes with novel risks,\u201d he said. \u201cErroneous information can be used by AI. It\u2019s important to move forward in an informed manner. AI solutions need to be explainable and agencies need to understand how AI works, the data it relies on, and understand bias and equity. We need human oversight.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Legislators pledge continued work<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, chair of the Senate Internet and Technology Committee; Sen. Robert Jackson, chair of the Senate Civil Service and Pensions Committee; and Assemblymember Alex Bores, a member of the Assembly Technology Committee, offered their insight into what elected leaders are working on and what remains to be done.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gonzalez, a former tech worker, said the committee focused on cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI over the last two years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs an elected official, most on my mind is how are we serving New Yorkers,\u201d she said. \u201cOur responsibility is to make sure we are protecting New Yorkers. How are we creating a future workforce where we are developing the next generation?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gonzalez said partnering with unions makes sense.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really excited to have PEF be a leader on IT and especially what we do moving forward,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PEF is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the LOADinG Act, the first bill of its kind in the country that has labor protections. This bill would require continued meaningful human review of AI that impacts public assistance benefits, civil liberties, or Constitutional rights. The LOADinG act would allow for the public to be aware of the extent of AI usage by state agencies and protect and preserve the labor rights of public employees by prohibiting any displacement of workers or reduction in their normal hours.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[The success of the legislation is] because of the people sitting in this room today,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWe want to protect the jobs that we already have. Proactive legislation sets a really important standard for New Yorkers. I deeply thank PEF for getting it across the line.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Senator Jackson said we are at a technology crossroads.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe rapid expansion of AI is in every facet of our lives,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hitting us everywhere. AI technology has reshaped industry, enhanced capabilities, offered solutions to some of the most pressing problems.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe need more safety and security,\u201d he stressed. \u201cThere is a wave of concern about job displacement. The fear that the irreplaceable elements of human ingenuity will be overshadowed. AI cannot and should not supplant human judgement, creativity and spirit. Our challenge is to integrate AI to support and enhance human work, rather than replace it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jackson said he is eager to work and engage with IT professionals like PEF members, state agencies, and legislators to address these issues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Assemblyman Bores, with an advanced degree in computer science, has been active in AI conversations and participated in an AI-related panel during the 13<\/span>th<\/span> annual NewDEAL Leaders Conference in Washington in November 2023.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bores said leaders must understand the importance of giving the public what they want or risk losing work to those who do it first.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen people need something from the government, they want to know, \u2018Can I get that service\u2019 and \u2018does it work?\u2019\u201d he said. That\u2019s where PEF\u2019s input becomes even more valuable. \u201cWe can take it to a bill, but it\u2019s really you that do the work that deliver it to New Yorkers. You are true drivers of success.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He echoed the other speakers on the importance of safeguarding the human element when using AI.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnytime we are making a decision, we need human context,\u201d Bores said. \u201cWe need people that know the details on the ground. That is where all of you are so important. I trust all of you in your decision-making far more than I trust an AI algorithm. You have years, even decades, of experience. The use of AI should prop you up, not write you off.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Civil Service implications<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Department of Civil Service Commissioner Timothy Hogues has an eye on the AI issue and is seeking input from PEF as jobs evolve to embrace the new technology.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know that we have been throwing this term \u2018AI\u2019 around for quite some time,\u201d he said. \u201cI am here to listen and better understand how we can move forward together. AI is not a recent phenomenon; it is in almost every aspect of our lives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know our government is investing in AI,\u201d Hogues said. \u201cI am definitely interested and want to be at the table to hear and have conversations about how it impacts the workforce and how we can use it to help do things more efficiently and serve the residents of New York.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n August 5, 2024 — \u201cGarbage in, garbage out.\u201d \u00a0 \u201cAlgorithms need to be transparent.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe need human oversight.\u201d\u00a0 Those words were repeated throughout the night at the PEF IT Summit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-5393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-42-no-6"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"PEF](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/AI-Grid-Web-ColorCorrected.jpg\")
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