New Ohio Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Ohio's Lt. Governor, Jon Husted, has introduced a comprehensive policy delineating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the state government. This strategic policy aims to foster innovation while establishing a framework for responsible implementation, guiding the effective management of this transformative technology.

Objectives and Emphasis

The policy's primary focus is on leveraging AI's potential to enhance productivity, education, customer service, and the overall quality of life for Ohio's residents. Lt. Governor Husted underscored the need for this guiding policy to harness AI's power while safeguarding the data behind this swiftly evolving technology. He emphasized the transformative impact of AI and the necessity of creating a structured framework to ensure its responsible use within state government, ultimately improving the service delivery to Ohio's citizens.

Policy Development and Structure

Formulated by a consortium of state government leaders and IT experts, convened by Husted himself, this policy serves as a guiding light for the responsible integration of AI in State of Ohio solutions. It not only offers guidelines but also erects guardrails and governance protocols, especially for generative AI, which includes the capacity to produce new content like code, images, music, text, simulations, 3D objects, and videos.

Key Guidelines

This policy describes stringent requirements for the incorporation of AI technologies into state solutions. It mandates a formal process encompassing identification, documentation, review, and approval of AI use. It also enforces guidance for:

• Training Requirements: Educating State of Ohio employees across technical and nontechnical roles regarding the implications and appropriate use of AI.

• Procurement Guidelines: Necessitating business partners to share information regarding AI use and the protection of state data.

• Security and Privacy Controls: Implementing security and privacy controls in alignment with state IT security and privacy laws, policies, and standards.

• Statewide Data Governance: Establishing comprehensive data governance requirements.

Detailed Implementation Roadmap

This policy encompasses a detailed procedural roadmap for AI planning and implementation within state agencies. It mandates steps such as defining formal processes for AI use cases, conducting data quality testing, establishing criteria for human intervention in AI-driven decisions, ensuring human verification processes for AI decisions, and continuous monitoring of AI-generated output to prevent errors or data bias.

Emphasis on Procurement and Security

Moreover, it places a strong emphasis on AI procurement, requiring alignment with policy requirements, evaluation of AI software services, disclosure of AI usage, due diligence for proper licensure of model training data, and compliance with copyright laws for AI-generated works owned by the state. To fortify security and privacy, agencies are directed to implement strict controls against adversarial attacks, ensure authentication and authorization align with policies, and restrict sensitive data inputs into unconstrained generative AI tools.

Data Governance and Oversight

The State of Ohio Chief Data Officer (CDO) Council is entrusted with establishing and maintaining statewide data governance requirements, ensuring data availability, quality, integrity, and responsible access for AI systems. Furthermore, the creation of a multi-agency AI Council holds significant responsibility in governing the statewide use of generative AI solutions.

In essence, Ohio's AI policy is a meticulous roadmap that spans across training, procurement, security, privacy, governance, and oversight. It's designed to harness the potential of AI while safeguarding data and ensuring ethical and effective utilization within the state government, emphasizing accountability, transparency, and responsible adoption to better serve the people of Ohio.