Back to the Future: CSAC Revisits GenAI Policy Conversation

With more than half of the largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies located in California, the state has been leading the way to study the development, use, and risks of AI throughout the state and to develop a deliberate and responsible process for evaluation and deployment of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) within state government.   

During the second General Session of the 2025 CSAC Legislative Conference, attendees were joined by keynote speaker Amy Tong, Special Advisor to the Governor, and former Secretary of the California Government Operations Agency. Amy Tong is leading the administration’s efforts to improve government efficiencies and drive innovative government solutions, including through the use of GenAI in state government. Throughout her career as a public servant, she held several positions in state government, including the State’s Chief Information Officer and the Director of the California Department of Technology. In these roles, she was responsible for leading critical technology projects, building 40 new technology tools, and making critical repairs to legacy systems.  

Amy discussed that with the increasing use of GenAI, we must focus on how to harness these technologies to augment our workforce. Using AI in the public sector is about making everybody’s job more effective, and it is important that this message is very clear to government leadership and the public sector workforce at all levels.  We need to set expectations and then bring in hands-on training for the workforce and hear their ideas on how they might think about using AI in their work.   

One approach the state is taking is by piloting GenAI in narrow use cases, including for traffic flow management, call center productivity, language access, and health care facility inspections. Another effort that she highlighted was around rebuilding in Los Angeles County after the 2025 wildfires. In close coordination with the affected local agencies, the state is strategizing regarding how to help residents and business owners rebuild effectively and efficiently, potentially GenAI to help streamline permitting processes or navigate other bureaucratic processes related to construction, siting, and more.  

To this end, Amy Tong shared that local governments who are interested in learning more about GenAI and their workforce can contact the California Department of Technology to access their cloud-based GenAI “sandbox.” The GenAI sandbox is designed to safely assess proof of concept GenAI technologies. California entered into agreements with five AI vendors to test, iterate, and evaluate GenAI through this process. Amy Tong also encouraged local governments to contact the state for opportunities for the local workforce to access some of the training materials on GenAI available to state staff.