As artificial intelligence gains traction in almost every aspect of our world, one New Jersey lawmaker is looking to put an expert in charge of how artificial intelligence implemented in the state’s government.
State Sen. Troy Singleton, a Democrat representing the state’s 7th Legislative District in Burlington County, has introduced a bill that would create New Jersey’s first artificial intelligence officer — an “AI czar.” He spoke with WNYC’s Michael Hill about his proposal on “Morning Edition” this week.
The transcript of their discussion below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Michael Hill: Let’s start at the beginning here. How is artificial intelligence already used in New Jersey state government?
State Sen. Troy Singleton: Well, currently, there’s a practice for very predictive analysis that the government uses for various programs. And as there is still [only] a nascent regulation scheme around it, we are wanting to make sure that we set the right framework by having an expert be employed by state government to be able to set forth a framework around how we regulate AI and its uses here in the state government in New Jersey.
The good and bad of AI has been everywhere in the news for the last year or so. What spurred you to introduce this particular bill?
Well, my guiding principles around this space fall into two buckets. One is that governance should be focused primarily on the impact of these algorithmic tools on individual civil rights and opportunities for advancement, as well as access to critical services.
My second main point is in building transparency, which I think is critical. Often these systems work opaquely and are used increasingly in a wide variety of impactful settings, so we wanted to make sure that we have the right parameters around it, and that is what spurred me to take action.
Sen. Singleton, which state entities do you think are most primed to see benefits from AI and automation? And what’s your at risk for adverse consequences?
So I…
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