By Stephanie Kanowitz,
Contributor, Route Fifty

Artificial intelligence is a hot commodity, but government agencies need to be cautious about buying it, experts say.

The biggest consideration is security. “It’s a challenge. There’s no other way to say it,” said Meredith Ward, deputy executive director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. “Cybersecurity needs to be baked into the process from the beginning, and quite honestly, that’s not happening.”

One reason why is the newness of AI, particularly generative AI solutions such as ChatGPT. State chief information security officers are proceeding with more caution than private-sector companies when it comes to AI, she said.

Efforts to ensure safe and trustworthy AI are happening, though. For instance, StateRAMP, an organization providing a security maturity assessment approach for cloud services, is participating in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Generative AI Public Working Group. Established last July, the group studies best practices for AI security.

One way agencies can limit their vulnerability to commercial AI solutions that may have unintended or harmful consequences is by using the procurement process to acquire the most responsible AI possible.

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