Maryland Governor's Office Taps AI Expert as Senior Adviser

A new senior adviser has joined the office of Maryland Governor Wes Moore, tasked with improving the state's use of artificial intelligence technology. Michael Boyce, who started in late May, brings expertise from his previous roles at U.S. Digital Response and the Department of Homeland Security's AI Corps.

He will aim to enhance Maryland's adoption of AI tools, building on existing initiatives such as a partnership between the governor's office and AI companies Anthropic and Percepta. This collaboration focuses on addressing child poverty, expanding housing access, and modernizing government services.

The state has already made progress in integrating AI technology, with around 43,000 employees having access to Google's Gemini AI assistant by October last year. About one-third of these users were considered active, according to a news release from the company.

Boyce believes that many improvements spurred by AI will be behind the scenes, streamlining processes and reducing response times for state services. For example, an internal tool can now provide answers in real-time, replacing what was previously a three-week wait.

The governor's office has published a policy governing employees' use of AI, available at ai.maryland.gov. Boyce aims to take Maryland from 'zero-to-one' building with AI to more widespread adoption and utilization.

Marylanders may notice some state services leveraging AI in the near future, such as an existing chatbot on the SUN Bucks website for summer food stamps program recipients.