Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore says he signed an AI executive order this year to catalyze the state government’s use of the technology. That directive put the Old Line State in the ranks of Washington and California, which have issued orders of their own, outlining how state agencies and educational institutions should tap into the rapidly-evolving technology. And it shows a growing role for states in the future of AI in government. That’s on top of efforts to regulate AI as Congress drags its feet. Moore is considered a rising star within the Democratic Party (although he says he is not interested in running for VP). He spoke to DFD about the balancing act Maryland and other states face on AI. They’re embracing the technology to attract a new source of jobs and tax revenue, but barreling into AI’s downsides from energy consumption to job displacement. An edited and condensed version of our conversation follows: What were your primary goals with Maryland’s AI executive order this January? I'm bullish on what I think AI can bring to our society. And so I’m proud of the fact that we became a leading state, that is one of the first and only states that has a state senior advisor [for] AI. I think it has a chance to unlock tremendous opportunities of not just growth, but tremendous opportunities of inclusion within our society. And I think that we have to be the ones willing to present the guardrails, instead of just simply responding to them. So it was important as we [asked], “what does it mean to create an economy that sees everybody?” and “what does it mean to build an economy in a state that's innovative?” that AI was part of that conversation. Speaking of guardrails, what specific measures need to be put in place to ensure AI is used responsibly? How should they be monitored and enforced? You have to have a sense of collaboration with both the creators and the other government entities. That means actually bringing in the private sector. That means bringing in the entrepreneurs. And that also means you're working in coordination with other states and the federal government to be able to get to the right conclusion. The Bloomberg Philanthropies work [a collaboration Maryland announced in June to find new solutions for reducing child poverty] became so important for us to be able to create those kind of partnerships, because that will create the kind of nexus that we think is necessary for us to accomplish our big goals, like ending child poverty, like creating cradle-to-career education for all of our kids, like having an economy that grows and sees everybody. But you need to make sure that you have a collaborative effort in order to make that happen. What are the big societal challenges that changing how governments use technology and data could help address? You have to have a philosophy that you actually lean on here. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I acknowledge it, but I also know that data matters, and I don't move without data. We actually brought on the first-ever chief performance officer in our state, who's exclusively working across sectors and working in the administration to add data and results and asset mapping to the way that we do our work. We’re using data to help determine how we're utilizing and thinking through our balance sheet allocation, because a state that invests wisely and uses data to invest wisely is a state that's going to win. Where do you go from there? What are the next applications you’re looking at? [We’re] talking about the crime fight that we have going on, and being able to enhance measurements of public safety and using predictive analytics to be able to both disrupt activities going on, but then also making sure that you’re increasing the closure rate on crimes that we're investigating. It's how you're using it for health purposes, being able to use predictive analytics to make sure that people are living longer and can be healthier. It’s ways you're using it from an educational perspective, and ensuring that we can have personalized educational assets for our kids. There's a multitude of applications [where] I think that predictive analytics and generative AI can be helpful in the conversation. What’s the role you see for the federal government versus states? The federal government is going to have an important role in this, because the federal government has to be the lead arbitrator, and also the person who's going to be working most directly with Congress and others to be able to understand and frankly, frame out the relationship that all of us are going to have with these things. But I don't think that as a state government, that we can just simply relinquish or resign responsibility. I think as state governments, we also have to lead. We also have to be active partners inside this work, both with the private sector and also with our federal partners. As a state government, I don't think that it's in our best interest to just simply wait for guidance. We want to be able to actually be a part of the process and make sure that our insights and our innovations are being heard in that debate . Do you see Maryland as a destination for companies in the AI space? Like many states, you've exempted data center equipment from your sales and use tax. Do you want it to be a prime destination for data center companies? I do. We actually introduced legislation last year around critical infrastructure. It helps to open up the pathway for critical infrastructure, data centers, technology platforms to be able to choose the state of Maryland. Whether you're talking about the quantum work at the University of Maryland, which is really the capital of quantum globally, or whether you're talking about the work that AI is doing at Johns Hopkins University — we have tremendous higher education partners. We have tremendous private sector partners here. We have huge leverageable assets. Maryland is the home of cyber around the globe. And so I want this to be the home of AI and the home of technology companies that know that in Maryland you can have a hospitable business environment. And that in Maryland, you can have a direct educational pipeline and some of the institutes of higher education that are helping to develop your future workforce, and you're going to have a place that believes in your work and that believes in coordination and partnership. I want to move Maryland aggressively to be the home of these kinds of innovations, and I want to make sure that people in other states know that you're going to have a welcoming environment for both not just your company, but also for your employees. How does Maryland distinguish itself from nearby Virginia, which is home to most of the world’s data centers? There is no state in the country that's taken a more aggressive approach over the past 12 months to attract data centers and attract technology companies than Maryland. If you look at the legislation that we just passed — it's more aggressive than any other state has passed over the process of this past year. One big unresolved challenge in AI’s growth is meeting its demand for energy. How do you think about that problem? What’s Maryland’s strategy to ensure it has enough electricity to power its data centers? There is an energy need and there are environmental considerations. But I also know that we don't have to choose between those things. We introduced legislation to build this industry, and we hold them to the same high environmental standards that we expect. Maryland has a unique advantage, where we can be a state that can lead on environmental protections, and we can be a state that believes deeply in creating these types of assets that have a chance to grow and build and flourish in our state. Last fall, the Biden administration designated Central Maryland and Baltimore a tech hub. It wasn't ultimately funded this month. What policy levers do you plan to use to stimulate new, innovative industries in cities like Baltimore going forward? Incentive-driven policies are smart. The ability for jurisdictions and municipalities to be able to incentivize business growth is going to be fundamentally important. It’s something that we have really spent a significant amount of time on in our first year and a half of office, where we focused on things like permitting reform and regulatory reform because it should never take businesses three years to get permits in the state of Maryland. We need to be able to streamline the process for businesses to be able to grow here. We’re able to do things like drive more people into the workforce and make historic investments in apprenticeship programs and job reskilling and job retraining.
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