Shapiro touts AI program for state employees during visit to Carnegie Mellon

Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled the results of the first-ever generative artificial intelligence pilot program for state employees during a visit Friday to Carnegie Mellon University.

Partnered with CMU and OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organization, Shapiro signed an executive order in September 2023 to expand and govern the use of generative AI technology in Pennsylvania.

“On June 1, we will involve more employees and give them more generative AI tools to get more stuff done for the good people of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “We will expand based on these valuable lessons that we learned here, and as we embrace these new technologies, we will continue to put our employees and the people of Pennsylvania first as part of our next steps on AI.”

Steve Catanese, the president of Service Employees International Union Local 668, said the data shows that workers are interested in the opportunities of AI but still have concerns for their privacy and futures.

While AI has been a positive tool overall, it isn’t helpful for every single job, Shapiro said.

“We confirmed that this tool is a job enhancer, not a job replacer,” he said. “Its success depends on keeping a human in the loop — meaning, the tools in people’s hands are helpful, but they can’t do it alone.”

During his speech Shapiro condemned the leadership in the federal government for belittling public service with recent cuts, saying that “rather than eliminating their jobs haphazardly, we are methodically working with them to help them be more effective and efficient stewards of taxpayer money and to more quickly meet the needs of our fellow Pennsylvanians.”

Shapiro also said that after President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, he is going to be watching closely to make sure the federal government does not pull back funding.

“It’s up to the president of the United States to determine what the bureaucracy should look like in Washington, but they can’t break their commitment to the students in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “If they do, I’ll be prepared to take action.”

During the first phase of the AI program, 175 employees from 14 agencies used ChatGPT Enterprise to test AI. It was revealed that 85% of commonwealth employees had a positive experience using AI for daily tasks, despite 48% of them never having used the AI chatbot ChatGPT before. The AI program found success when implemented in tasks such as simplifying job descriptions and legal documents.

OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said Pennsylvania has entered the “age of intelligence” and that AI is going to help solve hard problems in science, health care, education and government services.

Harrison MacRae, director of emerging technologies at the state Office of Administration, said that on average employees reported saving 95 minutes per day when using ChatGPT. Phase one of the program will draw to a close on May 31.

“As long as we are clear-eyed in our purpose as a government, I believe we cannot fall behind to best serve our fellow Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said.