Over 50 Maryland state agencies, boards and offices use AI tools, according to June 15 research by Government Technology. The state helps agencies test and create new applications through an AI innovation lab. Nathan Miller, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Information Technology, said Maryland’s Responsible AI Policy sets guardrails to help prevent harmful uses of artificial intelligence. Maryland AI lists the agencies, the tools they use and examples of use cases. Use cases range from writing assistance to accessibility assistants to analytics assistance.
Maryland Department of Health
System: Gemini for Google Workspace
Title: Professional Development Chatbot
Use Case: The user intends to use the “Take notes with Gemini” feature in Google Meet to automatically transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission
System: Adobe Creative Cloud (Sensei)
Title: AI Writing Assistant
Use Case: The agency uses these AI features to produce communications materials efficiently in a one-person staffed department.
A guide from the Digital Government Hub reveals how Digital Service Teams play an important role in modernizing state government. Digital Service Teams 101: A Guide for State and Local Governments, published April 30, describes these teams as “in-house, multidisciplinary teams focused on improving government services through agile, user-centered, digital practices.” They help regulatory agencies overcome siloed systems, legacy technology, as well as limited in-house expertise.
The guide offers multiple examples of state digital service teams and the challenges they address. For example, Georgia’s Digital Service team developed the Georgia Analytics Program to help state agencies make data-driven decisions. According to the guide, “in its first year, 90% of participating agencies reported increased digital performance scores.”
State and local agencies face a growing challenge in managing overlapping and sometimes conflicting cybersecurity regulations, according to a June 12 Route Fifty article. Data from a 2020 Government Accountability Office report, for example, discovered that as many as 79% of federal security requirements may conflict. A 2024 GAO report found that work still remains to harmonize cybersecurity rules. Organizations like the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and GovRAMP agree that harmonizing cyber frameworks saves time and reduces costs. “There are so many opportunities, and these regulations are really the thing that could hold us back, not only from achieving the best security outcomes that we could achieve, but from also being able to achieve our greatest potential from leveraging these innovations,” explains GovRAMP Executive Director Leah McGrath in the article. “As we’re seeing all these advancements, it feels like now’s the time. Let’s remove these burdens through harmonization, without sacrificing security. Most people agree, if we do this right, we are going to see better security as a result. So let’s just do it.”
Renee Moseley joined GL Solutions in 2016 with an educational and professional background in research and writing, along with software documentation. At GL Solutions she produces informative content to help regulatory agencies stay current on news and information that supports their success.