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AI in Government Part 2 of 2: Dru Rai as New York State Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), April 17th, 2026
Episode 128
Published 6 months, 1 week ago
Description
Dru Rai discusses the application of Artificial Intelligence in State Government, and what training looks like for more than 100,000 State workers. He says they first wrote AI Policy in 2023, and now are invested in growing ITS staff to help facilitate implementation and responsible use of AI.
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Intro & Who’s in Charge of AI
- [0:00:00 – 0:00:36]
- Introduction of Dru Rai and the focus on AI in New York State government.
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How NY Is Rolling Out AI
- [0:00:36 – 0:07:32]
- From first AI policy and pilots with Gemini/InnovateUS to use cases like summarizing data, tracking contracts, and assisting with code.
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Limits, Risks & Guardrails
- [0:07:32 – 0:27:35]
- Why AI can’t fully replace human creativity, the infrastructure and privacy challenges, and the “humans in the loop” governance approach.
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Jobs, Modernization & Efficiency
- [0:16:05 – 0:22:20]
- How AI changes—not removes—government jobs, alongside big hiring and modernization of legacy systems.
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Transparency, Regulation & the ‘Black Box’
- [0:27:35 – 0:35:48]
- New York’s push to make AI models more transparent, define their limits, and manage public anxiety.
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Cybersecurity & AI’s Double Edge
- [0:40:46 – 0:46:59]
- AI used for hacking and defense, the state’s growing cyber team, and cooperation with local and federal partners.
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