Pa. Develops Responsible AI Adoption Plan

After more than a year of study, a state government advisory committee has released a report that examines how artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the global economy and creating concerns about privacy, misuse, and disruption to the workforce in a number of areas.

The Joint State Government Commission was directed by the legislature in 2023 to develop the report, and an advisory committee of 20 legislative, business, academic, and technology leaders met over more than a year to thoroughly examine AI’s impact on Pennsylvania.

The report, Artificial Intelligence: Advisory Committee Recommendations on the Adoption and Use of AI in Pennsylvania, makes a number of recommendations for responsible AI deployment in the state, and examines its impacts in various areas, including education, industry, employment, energy, elections, and data center development.

A few key recommendations include establishing a chief AI officer within state government to oversee deployment of the technology in Pennsylvania and focusing on privacy and data protection. Requiring disclosures in sensitive information areas such as health care and employment, creating a data center registry to track information, and allowing residents to opt out of data collection, are suggested along with ways to ensure ethical use in education and law.

As AI continues to be integrated into education, the committee recommended that there should be evidence of its benefit, and that it should support and not replace human educators.

The report also highlights the data center development boom occurring in the state and large tech companies race to be the leader in AI, and the community concerns that are resulting. Communities are increasingly worried about rising energy prices, land use issues, water usage, noise and environmental effects. The report suggests that municipalities have the authority to regulate development with planning and zoning, and that data centers be required to report their energy and water usage yearly.

In addition, the report examines AI’s potential to displace workers as it can take over functions previously done by humans and suggests that employees be given advance notice of of AI tools being deployed.

The report comes as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently announced the launch of an AI Literacy Toolkit o help residents safely use artificial intelligence tools and the formation of an AI Enforcement Task Force and a formal complaint process for AI-powered bots that may be engaging in unlicensed professional practice.

AI will have an impact on almost every facet of life, and as the technology continues to advance, government, business, education, and workers will have to adapt and responsibly manage its use.