Overview

October 27

States throughout the U.S. have made broad gains in their adoption of artificial intelligence – especially in chatbots and digital assistants in combination with robotic process automation – as they worked to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is one finding from the 2021 survey of state governments by the NASCIO, IBM and the Center for Digital Government.

Join Government Technology on October 27 at 12 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern as we unpack our survey of over 30 states as well as insights from more than 10 in-depth interviews with high-level state agency IT leaders about how the pandemic spurred AI adoption and how they see their states leveraging this technology in the coming years.

Register here!

Speakers

Joe Morris

Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, Government Technology

Joseph Morris is the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer and a national keynote speaker on issues, trends and drivers impacting state and local government and education. He has authored publications and reports on funding streams, technology investment areas and public-sector priorities, and has led roundtables, projects and initiatives focused on issues within the public sector. Joe has conducted state and local government research with e.Republic since 2007 and knows the ins and outs of government on all levels. He received his Bachelor of Arts in government and international relations from the California State University, Sacramento.

Nelson Moe

CIO, Commonwealth of Virginia

Nelson P. Moe is the chief information officer (CIO) of the commonwealth and leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). He was appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe effective June 8, 2015 and reappointed by Gov. Ralph Northam on March 28, 2018. As CIO, he leads a 200 person organization responsible for oversight on the IT infrastructure services as well as governance of the Commonwealth’s IT procurements, cyber security and enterprise architecture. Nelson led the multi-year transformation of the commonwealth’s IT infrastructure services from a single supplier model to its current multi-supplier model with seven suppliers and an integrator. This transformation has fundamentally improved the commonwealth’s visibly into the IT services and its ability to add new technology services at speed and scale. Nelson is also the commonwealth’s IT procurement authority and in that capacity he approves RFPs and contracts for IT infrastructure and applications. Nelson’s experience prior to coming to the commonwealth includes serving 3 years as CIO for the U.S. House of Representatives. In that positon, he was responsible for the IT vision, enterprise strategic planning, budget implementation, cybersecurity operations and risk posture, business continuity management, IT services and project management for the members, leadership, committees and staff of the House of Representatives. His career at the House started in February of 2001 and spanned 14 years of increasing positions of responsibility. Prior to his time at the House of Representatives, Nelson finished a career in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. He qualified for both Nuclear Engineer and Command at Sea. He then worked in the private sector for several small companies and an IT startup. Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy and graduate engineering degrees from both The Catholic University and George Washington University.

Bruce Tyler

Senior Partner, IBM

Bruce is a Senior Partner with IBM. He is the Americas leader for the Data, AI/Cognitive and Analytics consulting practice for State & Local Government, Health Care and Life Sciences. He is an accomplished senior business executive with a proven track record of enabling clients to make better decisions and optimize performance by combining strategy, information management, advanced analytics, and AI to address important and complex opportunities. Bruce has with over twenty years of experience in data and analytics. He has extensive knowledge in: Cognitive Intelligence/AI and Performance Management, Data Management, Advanced Analytics and Program Management. Bruce has directed several large, complex data transformation projects through the full life cycle of enterprise information, back office financial systems and decision support. Prior to his work in data and analytics he began his professional career as a nuclear engineer. Bruce resides in Georgia with his wife and 5 children. When not helping clients solve their most complex challenges, he enjoys golfing and hiking and recently hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!

Teri Takai — Moderator

Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Teri Takai is the Vice President of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards. Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Webinar

How AI Shaped States' Response to a Crisis - And What It Means for Future Adoption