The rapid adoption and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) has broad implications for every facet of public and private life. In this burgeoning field, the public policy stakes are high, and the issues are complex. CSG South hosted the Dream Machine: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Governing Policy Masterclass to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and expertise to aid policymakers in striking a balance between fostering innovation and establishing regulatory guardrails.
Twenty-one participants from 12 Southern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia – participated in the Masterclass over three days.
Throughout the Masterclass, attendees participated in nine learning sessions and a site visit ranging from information on the impacts of AI and data centers on the energy grid, generative AI tools for legislators and staff, deepfakes and election security, workforce development impacts, permitting reform and governmental transparency, AI and transportation, and protecting student and citizen data privacy. Participants reflected on these presentations and the key issues in their states by participating in a legislative roundtable discussion on AI policies and priorities for the 2025 legislative session. Additionally, participants heard a keynote from Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America, who shared the EU’s leading work regarding consumer data privacy laws and AI regulatory reforms.
Participants also traveled to the Arlington campus of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, where they received briefings on partnering with postsecondary institutions and the private sector to develop the workforce of the future and increase the U.S.’s physical and cyber security. The Learning Sessions throughout the event were as follows:
- Learning Session 3 | Innovation and AI in the Commonwealth’s Permit Transparency Portal Presenter: Matthew Nolan, Deputy Director, Office of Regulatory Management, Virginia
- Learning Session 4 (cont.) | Country R.O.A.D. Take Me Home: How West Virginia’s Using AI to Improve the State Presenter: Hussein Elkhansa, Chief Technology Officer, West Virginia Department of Transportation
- Learning Session 5 | AI, Deep Fakes, and Election Security Presenter: Lindsey Forson, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Washington, D.C.
- Learning Session 6 | The King and (A)I: Tennessee’s First-in-the-Nation E.L.V.I.S. Act Presenter: Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, Tennessee
- Learning Session 7 | AI, EdTech, and Protecting Student Data Privacy Presenter: Paige Kowalski, Executive Vice President, Data Quality Campaign, Washington, D.C.
The 21 participants included:
- Representative Leigh Hulsey, Alabama
- Ms. Laura Howell, General Counsel for the Alabama Office of Information Technology
- Representative Denise Garner, Arkansas
- Ms. Kimberly Davis, Statewide Program Manager for the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services
- Mr. Zachary Roger, Assistant to the Senate President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas General Assembly
- Representative Scott Holcomb, Georgia
- Mr. Patrick Love, Attorney Analyst for the Georgia Senate Office of Policy and Legislative Analysis
- Representative Derek Lewis, Kentucky
- Representative Barbara Freiberg, Louisiana
- Ms. Julia George Moore, General Counsel for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor/Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism
- Senator Rod Hickman, Mississippi
- Representative Renee Reuter, Missouri
- Senator Jim Burgin, North Carolina
- Representative Carolyn Logan, North Carolina
- Representative Daniel Pae, Oklahoma
- Representative Arturo Alonso Sandoval, Oklahoma
- Ms. Abby Berquist, Research and Budget Analyst for the South Carolina House Ways and Means Committee
- Delegate Bonita Anthony, Virginia
- Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Virginia
- Mr. Luke Priddy, Chief of Staff to the Virginia Senate General Laws and Technology Committee Chairman Adam Ebbin
- Delegate Daniel Linville, West Virginia
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