SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Generative artificial intelligence tools will soon be used by California's government.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration announced Thursday the state will partner with five companies to develop and test generative AI tools that could improve public service.
California is among the first states to roll out guidelines on when and how state agencies can buy AI tools as lawmakers across the country grapple with how to regulate the emerging technology.
Here's a closer look at the details:
Generative AI is a branch of artificial intelligence that can create new content such as text, audio and photos in response to prompts. It's the technology behind ChatGPT, the controversial writing tool launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI. The San Francisco-based company Anthropic, with backing from Google and Amazon, is also in the generative AI game.
California envisions using this type of technology to help cut down on customer call wait times at state agencies, and to improve traffic and road safety, among other things.
Initially, four state departments will test generative AI tools: The Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Health, and the Health and Human Services Department.
The tax and fee agency administers more than 40 programs and took more than 660,000 calls from businesses last year, director Nick Maduros said. The state hopes to deploy AI to listen in on those calls and pull up key information on state tax codes in real time, allowing the workers to more quickly answer questions because they don't have to look up the information themselves.
In another example, the state wants to use the technology to provide people with information about health and social service benefits in languages other than English.
The public doesn't have access to these tools quite yet, but possibly will in the future. The state will start a six-month trial, during which the tools will be tested by state workers internally. In the tax example, the state plans to have the technology analyze recordings of calls from businesses and see how the AI handles them afterward — rather than have it run in real-time, Maduros said.
Not all the tools are designed to interact with the public though. For instance, the tools designed to help improve highway congestion and road safety would only be used by state officials to analyze traffic data and brainstorm potential solutions.
State workers will test and evaluate their effectiveness and risks. If the tests go well, the state will consider deploying the technology more broadly.
The ultimate cost is unclear. For now, the state will pay each of the five companies $1 to start a six-month internal trial. Then, the state can assess whether to sign new contracts for long-term use of the tools.
“If it turns out it doesn’t serve the public better, then we’re out a dollar,” Maduros said. “And I think that’s a pretty good deal for the citizens of California.”
The state currently has a massive budget deficit, which could make it harder for Newsom to make the case that such technology is worth deploying.
Administration officials said they didn't have an estimate on what such tools would eventually cost the state, and they did not immediately release copies of the agreements with the five companies that will test the technology on a trial basis. Those companies are: Deloitte Consulting, LLP, INRIX, Inc., Accenture, LLP, Ignyte Group, LLC, SymSoft Solutions LLC.
The rapidly growing technology has also raised concerns about job loss, misinformation, privacy and automation bias.
State officials and academic experts say generative AI has significant potential to help government agencies become more efficient but there’s also an urgent need for safeguards and oversight.
Testing the tools on a limited basis is one way to limit potential risks, said Meredith Lee, chief technical adviser for UC Berkeley’s College of Computing, Data Science, and Society.
But, she added, the testing can't stop after six months. The state must have a consistent process for testing and learning about the tools' potential risks if it decides to deploy them on a wider scale.
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a news conference, March 21, 2024, in Los Angeles. California announced Thursday, May 9, 2024, it is partnering with five companies to develop generative AI tools to help deliver public services. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.”
This follows a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture was released earlier this month and the inability of FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg to convince Congress in testimony last week that he is able to turn the agency around despite the report saying Greunberg himself was often the source of the problems.
“After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving further outreach from FDIC employees to the Banking and Housing Committee, I am left with one conclusion: there must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Up until Monday, no Democrats had called for Gruenberg's replacement, although several came very close to doing so in their own statements. Brown's statement will likely lead to other Democrats to now call for Gruenberg's removal.
In his statement, Brown did not call for Gruenberg to be fired. He is in the middle of his six-year term as chairman of the FDIC and if Gruenberg were to step down, Vice Chair Travis Hill, a Republican, would lead the agency. Brown instead called on President Biden to nominate a new chair for the FDIC “without delay,” which the Senate would then confirm.
Republicans have been calling for Gruenberg to step down for some time. At Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. and the top Republican on the committee, detailed several stories of female FDIC workers who outlined extreme harassment and stalking by their coworkers, complaints that were dismissed by supervisors, according to the report.
“Marty — you’ve heard me say this to you directly — you should resign,” Scott said. “Your employees do not have confidence in you. And this is not a single incident. This spans over a decade-plus of your leadership at the FDIC.”
Scott, who called for Gruenberg to step down in December when the initial allegations were made public, is now calling for the Banking Committee to hold a separate hearing on the FDIC's workplace issues.
Gruenberg has been been involved in various levels of leadership at the FDIC for nearly 20 years, and this is his second full term as FDIC chair. His long tenure at the agency at the highest levels of power has made him largely responsible for the agency's toxic work environment, according to the independent report outlining the problems at the agency.
The report released Tuesday by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton cites incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of employment regulations, based on more than 500 complaints from employees.
Complaints included a woman who said she was stalked by a coworker and continually harassed even after complaining about his behavior; a field office supervisor referring to gay men as “little girls;” and a female field examiner who described receiving a picture of an FDIC senior examiner’s private parts.
The FDIC is one of several banking system regulators. The Great Depression-era agency is best known for running the nation’s deposit insurance program, which insures Americans’ deposits up to $250,000 in case their bank fails.
Sheila Bair, who was chair of the FDIC through the 2008 financial crisis and was one of the most prominent voices from government at that time, posted on Twitter on Monday that it would be best for the agency if Gruenberg would step down.
“This controversy is hurting him and his agency. For his own sake and everyone at the FDIC, he should announce his intention to resign effective with the appointment,” she said.
AP Treasury Department Reporter Fatima Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.
FILE - Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on improving rail safety in response to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2023. The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, May 20, 2024, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.” (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board of Directors Chairman Martin Gruenberg, testifies during the House Committee on Financial Services hearing on oversight of prudential regulators, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, May 20, 2024, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
