March 11, 2026 • 15 mins
Amy and Alex discuss how AI is moving beyond generating text to executing real tasks and workflows. In this episode, we unpack the rise of agentic AI, what it means for state governments and how technology leaders can prepare for this next phase of AI innovation.
Find the report here: https://www.nascio.org/resource-center/resources/beyond-generation-the-rise-of-agentic-ai-in-state-government/
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Amy Glasscock (00:05):
Hi, and welcome to NASCIO Voices, where we talk
all things state IT.
I'm Amy Glasscock in Lexington,Kentucky.
Alex Whitaker (00:11):
And I'm Alex Whitaker in Washington, D.C.
Today we're talking about whatcomes next after generative AI,
and Amy is here to tell us allabout her new report, Beyond
Generation (00:19):
The Rise of Agentic AI in State Government.
Amy Glasscock (00:23):
The report was released last week, and I
thought it would be fun to giveour listeners an audio overview.
Alex Whitaker (00:27):
Absolutely.
So let's get into it.
Your report is called BeyondGeneration.
So, what does that phrase meanin the context of AI and why is
the conversation moving beyondgenerative AI right now?
I feel like we just got intothe AI conversation and we're
already moving on.
Amy Glasscock (00:41):
I know, that's how it feels, but it has been
several years actually, if youcan believe it.
So for the past three plusyears, state governments have
been focused a lot on generativeAI tools that generate text
summaries, write code, theyanalyze.
So, you know, pretty mucheveryone's using it now.
Um, all the states are usingit, companies, individuals.
(01:03):
And a lot of states now have AIgovernance policies in place.
Most of them have been runningpilot projects or proofs of
concept with generative AI.
And a lot of employees arealready using generative AI in
their daily work.
Um, you know, we ask statesabout that, and many more than
were the year before.
So we are always at NASIOthinking about what comes next.
(01:25):
So the technology is evolving,where are we going?
And we're seeing a shift now.
It's not super strong yet, butwe're seeing a shift to agentic
AI.
And in our research, severalstates already reported early
agentic tools in production.
So the shift is beginning now.
Alex Whitaker (01:42):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So let's talk a little bitabout that actual difference
though, because I know many ofus are familiar with tools like
Chat GPT or Copilot or whateverelse you may use.
But how do you explain thedifference between generative AI
and agentic AI in plain termsthat someone like me would
understand?
Amy Glasscock (01:57):
Yeah.
So I think a simple way toexplain it would be like
generative AI is a very smartassistant that writes things for
you.
Um, also can summarize andanalyze, and you know, really
smart ones can write code.
But agentic AI is an assistantthat can actually carry out
tasks on your behalf.
So, you know, generative AI isgenerating text and images,
(02:19):
code, but you know, it requireshuman prompts.
It has limited memory andcontext, though that's getting
better.
Um, but it doesn't executeworkflows necessarily.
So agentic AI, it can plan andexecute multi-step tasks, it can
maintain context over time, itintegrates with systems,
databases, workflows, and it canact with minimal human input.
(02:42):
So a simple example would behey, generative AI, ChatGPT,
Gemini Claude, write a responseto this citizen inquiry.
Agentic AI can read theinquiry, look up relevant
records, draft the response,open a case ticket, and then
route the issue to the correctagency.
Alex Whitaker (03:00):
Wow.
So that's that's reallyfascinating.
And I'm sort of seeing like allsorts of I've I've we you know
we see things like that inmovies, and the fact that it's
actually here is pretty crazyfor us.
Yeah.
So you outlined five phases inthe evolution towards agentic
AI, and where are most states onthat journey today?
Amy Glasscock (03:15):
Yeah, so I'll just kind of give you a quick
overview of these kind of fiveconceptual phases that we talk
about in the report.
And and they're not like youmust go through these steps.
It's just sort of where I Ifeel like states might read
these and kind of see themselvessomewhere in this spectrum.
So uh phase one is assistivegenerative AI.
So AI is drafting documents,summarizing policies, writing
(03:38):
code.
We'd be hard-pressed to find astate that's not already using
AI in this way today.
Phase two is more context-awaregenerative AI, so chat bots
that remember conversationcontext, AI tools trained on
agency knowledge bases.
And I'd say most states arealready here as well.
Even personally, who among ushasn't noticed our own chat GPT
(03:58):
or Gemini bots understanding uspretty well at this point?
Or maybe you've created acustom GPT or something based on
your work or a project that youhave going on.
I'm not sure.
Alex Whitaker (04:08):
Just quickly, Amy has done that for NASCIO, so
check it out.
I wanna I wanna make sure shegets her due here because she's
done that and it's great.
Amy Glasscock (04:14):
And personally, too, I used ones based on local
building codes to help me withthe renovation recently.
Alex Whitaker (04:19):
So also a fun process to watch.
Amy Glasscock (04:21):
So uh I did learn that I really need to go read
the code after and just have itpoint me in the right direction,
though.
So uh that's an aside.
But so phase three is tasklevel automation.
So this is where we're seeingearly agentic AI starting to
happen.
So it's filing help tickets,pre-filling forms, routing
(04:41):
documents for approval.
And some states are probablyseeing themselves here.
Phase four, multi-step workflowagents.
So it's able to manageprocesses across systems, and
then phase five is the proactiveAI agents identifying problems
and initiating workautomatically.
So nobody's really stuck atphase one at this point, and
(05:03):
nobody is really gonna be atphase five yet.
So I'd say states are somewherebetween two and four, and a
fair number of states areprobably starting to enter and
work through phase three taskautomation level.
Alex Whitaker (05:16):
Yeah.
So if some of them are gettingto that phase, I think we could
probably look at, and and youmaybe you could suggest what are
some practical examples of howagentic AI might be used in
state governments in the comingyears since we have this base?
Are we are we really trying tothink, you know, how could we
actually use it in stategovernment?
Amy Glasscock (05:31):
Yeah, so I think a big way that states are going
to be looking at using it iscitizen services.
So, you know, AI agents helpingresidents navigate government
services.
So it can automatically fillforms, retrieve documents, check
eligibility, completemulti-step transactions.
And in fact, you know, we'veseen um in the press that Alaska
is exploring agenticcapabilities in their My Alaska
(05:55):
portal for citizen services.
Another way would be withinternal government operations.
So, you know, automating someof those administrative
workflows, um using it foremployee onboarding, compliance
monitoring, procurementprocesses, knowledge management
updates, and also foroperational efficiency.
So detecting anomalies orfraud, um important, you know,
(06:18):
cybersecurity partner,identifying procurement
bottlenecks, monitoringcompliance risk.
So uh we also have seen thatTennessee is exploring agentic
capabilities in their nextgeneration ERP systems.
So looking into that.
Wow.
Also for service management, soAI agents helping manage
citizen complaints and servicerequests.
(06:40):
Uh, we have seen that Texas DOTDepartment of Transportation is
piloting AI agents to helpassign and resolve citizen
complaints faster.
So I think a lot more stateswill be looking at that.
Alex Whitaker (06:52):
Okay, wow.
So so this isn't just in thetheoretical.
I mean, we're really looking atsome ways that can this can be
incorporated and improvedservices.
That's that's reallyfascinating.
But um, you know, for me, onething that stood out in the
report is that Agenic AI, andyou just talked about this, um,
can actually take actions ratherthan just generate content,
which is, you know, a hugeshift.
Um, but tell us why that's sucha big shift for government
(07:13):
technology teams.
Amy Glasscock (07:14):
Yeah.
So, you know, with generativeAI, humans are still performing
the actions.
Uh with Agenic AI, AI can beginexecuting parts of the workflow
itself.
So, you know, with generativeAI, it's creating stuff, but
humans are still doing the work,and with Igentic, the AI can
start doing some of the work.
So this matters because, youknow, we all know that
(07:36):
government work is filled withcomplex processes, multi-step
workflows, and agentic AI cancoordinate, you know, across
systems, track progress acrossmultiple steps, and then of
course escalate issues to humanswhen necessary, which is an
important aspect of all of this.
Um, there is a possibility fora huge productivity impact.
(07:57):
So some of the research that uhI saw when I was writing this
report was you know 30 to 60percent time savings and
significant acceleration ofprocesses.
So this is important becauseyou know, we have talked about
the workforce shortages thatstates are facing.
You have this, you know,growing retiring workforce and
(08:18):
also increasing service demands.
So agentic could help employeesbecome a lot more productive.
And it's interesting, uh, thepolicy team was sharing an
article here at NASIO a few daysago about how as it becomes
easier and smoother and sort ofa better, more streamlined
experience for citizens whenthey interact with state
government, then actually theremight be more demand for
(08:41):
services from state governmentbecause you're sort of reducing
some of that friction.
So that's an interesting aspectto think about as well.
Alex Whitaker (08:48):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I I know I, for one,and I I try to work on this, but
I tend to be a little bit morepessimistic on some of these
things.
You know, when I mentioned themovies earlier, I tend to think
of the movies where it's youknow, agentic AI has has gone
terribly wrong.
Amy Glasscock (09:01):
Yeah.
Alex Whitaker (09:02):
Um and I try not to do that.
So and I know you you justmentioned a little bit of the
you know, the the pluses, theopportunities, but any other
kind of big opportunities forstates that you might want to
mention about if they do umadopt agentic AI thoughtfully,
they can help my uh put some ofmy anxiety at bay.
Amy Glasscock (09:17):
Yeah.
So, you know, like I talkedabout supporting the workforce,
which has a shortage, helpingcitizens, you know, there's they
still in many cases arestruggling to navigate
government services.
So just kind of helping guideresidents through services from
start to finish, clearing outbacklogs, automating routine
tasks and doing things moreefficiently, reducing
(09:39):
administrative bottlenecks, youknow, just sort of those kind of
basic things to boost up thewith the workforce in states.
Alex Whitaker (09:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
But um, so well, those arethose are great, and I'm glad
there are some some obviouspositives, but it it's not in my
nature to not look at the riskstoo.
So um, you know, you do talkabout risks as well.
Um so what are the biggestrisks for governance or security
concerns that states shouldalso be thinking about as they
they start to go down this road?
Amy Glasscock (10:05):
Yeah, so I would say this is probably like the
the most we've written aboutlike security and risk in an in
the AI report at NASIO.
Um because, you know, when youstart thinking about AI
autonomy, agentic AI can accesssystems, it can move data
around, it can trigger actionsacross platforms.
So if it's misused ormanipulated, or if it just kind
(10:27):
of goes rogue, you know,obviously it can cause
large-scale issues quickly.
So some of the key risk areas Ithink that states should
consider are securityvulnerabilities.
So, you know, AI agents uhagain can be manipulated to
access sensitive data, escalateprivileges, and trigger
unauthorized actions, whichwould all be very scary.
(10:48):
There are data and privacyrisks.
So if you have an AI that'sinteracting with multiple
systems, obviously thatincreases exposure.
And then, of course, trust andworkforce concerns.
So some government workersstill remain, you know, cautious
or skeptical about AI adoption.
So that's something that, youknow, has to be considered as
well.
(11:09):
So we did put in some kind ofrecommended safeguards in the
report.
And so some of those are thatstates should focus on, you
know, making sure you have humanapproval for any high-risk
actions, of course, strictlimits on AI permissions, and
then continuous monitoring andlogging.
So, you know, you really havean handle on what it's allowed
(11:30):
to do and you're keeping a closewatch.
So the overall approach shouldbe kind of, you know, agenic AI
should be treated as powerful,but untrusted by default for
states.
Alex Whitaker (11:40):
Awesome.
Well, those all sound really umreassuring that there are some
safeguards that we can put outthere too.
So I really appreciate youtalking about the report.
Um, so we will put a link inthe show notes, but everyone can
also find it in the NASIOResource Center on our website,
which I really encourageeveryone to do.
Um, because it's a reallyfascinating report, Amy.
Amy Glasscock (11:58):
Thanks.
It was fun.
Alex Whitaker (11:59):
Um but of yeah, good, good.
But of course, um, we have tohave a little fun before we end
this episode with a lightninground.
Are you ready?
Amy Glasscock (12:09):
I'm ready.
Alex Whitaker (12:10):
Okay, so let's keep it going with AI.
Um, and if you could have an AIagent handle one everyday task
in your life right now, and thatcan be work or personal, what
would it be?
Amy Glasscock (12:20):
Well, I wish I could say doing dishes, but
that's physical AI, which we'renot really there yet.
It's probably probably arelief.
Um, so I would say, you know,we are um kind of in the home
stretch of this upstairs editionon our home.
And so I feel like I am liketrying to figure out all these
details lately.
So if I just had an agent thatwas like really smart about all
(12:41):
the things I care about thatcould just go find products for
me to buy, like, you know, alight fixture or trim for my
windows, like that would be thatwould be really useful, which
it kind of is, but like notperfect yet.
Alex Whitaker (12:54):
Yeah, no, that makes sense.
You can get some weird thingsshowing up at your doorstep.
Amy Glasscock (12:58):
Or like, oh, this is a thousand dollars more than
I was really hoping to spend.
Alex Whitaker (13:02):
Well, maybe it would stick to a budget.
That would be a good thing.
Amy Glasscock (13:04):
Yeah, I think that would be a key uh risk uh
permission.
Alex Whitaker (13:08):
Yeah.
All right.
So spring is finally arriving,and it certainly is here in DC,
and I think it is in Lexingtontoo.
Uh, but what is one thing youlook forward to every year when
the weather warms up?
Amy Glasscock (13:19):
Um, for sure, all of the beautiful flowers that
start blooming and seeing whatmy landscaping will do as spring
and summer arrive, it's alwaysa little bit like better every
year.
We invested in some landscapingin like December of 2023.
And you know, the first summerit was okay, but then the next
summer I was like, oh wow, likethis is awesome.
So I can't wait to see what itlooks like this year.
(13:41):
And of course you got to getthrough the pollen season, but
you know, I'll take it.
Alex Whitaker (13:45):
Yeah.
All right.
And finally, what is one AItool or technology that still
feels a little bit like magic toyou?
Amy Glasscock (13:53):
Um for me, it is like how good it has gotten at
creating images.
And uh, you know, I think we'vementioned this a couple times
on the podcast, but I do someinterior design work on the
side.
And so I used to think like,oh, one of these days I'm gonna
sit down and figure out how touse Photoshop, you know, but now
like I don't think I'll everhave to because I can take a
(14:14):
picture of someone's kitchen andjust say, show me what this
would look like with, you know,this backsplash and this
countertop.
And it's like so good now.
Um, it's really been a hugejump in like the last six months
or so.
Alex Whitaker (14:27):
No, for sure.
And you know, I feel bad forthe graphic design industry.
I I really do.
It's tough.
But yeah, I just I also agree.
I always wanted to learnPhotoshop, but don't think I
need to anymore.
Amy Glasscock (14:36):
Yeah, yeah.
You still get to be thedirector, you know.
So but yeah, huge time savingstoo.
Alex Whitaker (14:43):
Sure.
All right.
Well, Amy, I think that's itfor today, but thank you so
much.
I know this is reallyfascinating.
And again, everybody shouldcheck out that report.
Amy Glasscock (14:50):
Great.
Thanks, Alex.
Alex Whitaker (14:51):
Yeah, thank you.
Amy Glasscock (14:52):
Thanks again for listening to NASCIO Voices.
NASCIO Voices is a productionof the National Association of
State CIOs.
Learn more at NASCIO.org.
Alex Whitaker (15:01):
We'll be back in two weeks with this to be State
CIO, Craig Orgeron.
Subscribe to the podcast so youdon't miss it.
Amy Glasscock (15:06):
Talk to you soon.
Hi, and welcome to NASCIO Voices, where we talk
all things state IT.
I'm Amy Glasscock in Lexington,Kentucky.
Alex Whitaker (00:11):
And I'm Alex Whitaker in Washington, D.C.
Today we're talking about whatcomes next after generative AI,
and Amy is here to tell us allabout her new report, Beyond
Generation (00:19):
The Rise of Agentic AI in State Government.
Amy Glasscock (00:23):
The report was released last week, and I
thought it would be fun to giveour listeners an audio overview.
Alex Whitaker (00:27):
Absolutely.
So let's get into it.
Your report is called BeyondGeneration.
So, what does that phrase meanin the context of AI and why is
the conversation moving beyondgenerative AI right now?
I feel like we just got intothe AI conversation and we're
already moving on.
Amy Glasscock (00:41):
I know, that's how it feels, but it has been
several years actually, if youcan believe it.
So for the past three plusyears, state governments have
been focused a lot on generativeAI tools that generate text
summaries, write code, theyanalyze.
So, you know, pretty mucheveryone's using it now.
Um, all the states are usingit, companies, individuals.
(01:03):
And a lot of states now have AIgovernance policies in place.
Most of them have been runningpilot projects or proofs of
concept with generative AI.
And a lot of employees arealready using generative AI in
their daily work.
Um, you know, we ask statesabout that, and many more than
were the year before.
So we are always at NASIOthinking about what comes next.
(01:25):
So the technology is evolving,where are we going?
And we're seeing a shift now.
It's not super strong yet, butwe're seeing a shift to agentic
AI.
And in our research, severalstates already reported early
agentic tools in production.
So the shift is beginning now.
Alex Whitaker (01:42):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So let's talk a little bitabout that actual difference
though, because I know many ofus are familiar with tools like
Chat GPT or Copilot or whateverelse you may use.
But how do you explain thedifference between generative AI
and agentic AI in plain termsthat someone like me would
understand?
Amy Glasscock (01:57):
Yeah.
So I think a simple way toexplain it would be like
generative AI is a very smartassistant that writes things for
you.
Um, also can summarize andanalyze, and you know, really
smart ones can write code.
But agentic AI is an assistantthat can actually carry out
tasks on your behalf.
So, you know, generative AI isgenerating text and images,
(02:19):
code, but you know, it requireshuman prompts.
It has limited memory andcontext, though that's getting
better.
Um, but it doesn't executeworkflows necessarily.
So agentic AI, it can plan andexecute multi-step tasks, it can
maintain context over time, itintegrates with systems,
databases, workflows, and it canact with minimal human input.
(02:42):
So a simple example would behey, generative AI, ChatGPT,
Gemini Claude, write a responseto this citizen inquiry.
Agentic AI can read theinquiry, look up relevant
records, draft the response,open a case ticket, and then
route the issue to the correctagency.
Alex Whitaker (03:00):
Wow.
So that's that's reallyfascinating.
And I'm sort of seeing like allsorts of I've I've we you know
we see things like that inmovies, and the fact that it's
actually here is pretty crazyfor us.
Yeah.
So you outlined five phases inthe evolution towards agentic
AI, and where are most states onthat journey today?
Amy Glasscock (03:15):
Yeah, so I'll just kind of give you a quick
overview of these kind of fiveconceptual phases that we talk
about in the report.
And and they're not like youmust go through these steps.
It's just sort of where I Ifeel like states might read
these and kind of see themselvessomewhere in this spectrum.
So uh phase one is assistivegenerative AI.
So AI is drafting documents,summarizing policies, writing
(03:38):
code.
We'd be hard-pressed to find astate that's not already using
AI in this way today.
Phase two is more context-awaregenerative AI, so chat bots
that remember conversationcontext, AI tools trained on
agency knowledge bases.
And I'd say most states arealready here as well.
Even personally, who among ushasn't noticed our own chat GPT
(03:58):
or Gemini bots understanding uspretty well at this point?
Or maybe you've created acustom GPT or something based on
your work or a project that youhave going on.
I'm not sure.
Alex Whitaker (04:08):
Just quickly, Amy has done that for NASCIO, so
check it out.
I wanna I wanna make sure shegets her due here because she's
done that and it's great.
Amy Glasscock (04:14):
And personally, too, I used ones based on local
building codes to help me withthe renovation recently.
Alex Whitaker (04:19):
So also a fun process to watch.
Amy Glasscock (04:21):
So uh I did learn that I really need to go read
the code after and just have itpoint me in the right direction,
though.
So uh that's an aside.
But so phase three is tasklevel automation.
So this is where we're seeingearly agentic AI starting to
happen.
So it's filing help tickets,pre-filling forms, routing
(04:41):
documents for approval.
And some states are probablyseeing themselves here.
Phase four, multi-step workflowagents.
So it's able to manageprocesses across systems, and
then phase five is the proactiveAI agents identifying problems
and initiating workautomatically.
So nobody's really stuck atphase one at this point, and
(05:03):
nobody is really gonna be atphase five yet.
So I'd say states are somewherebetween two and four, and a
fair number of states areprobably starting to enter and
work through phase three taskautomation level.
Alex Whitaker (05:16):
Yeah.
So if some of them are gettingto that phase, I think we could
probably look at, and and youmaybe you could suggest what are
some practical examples of howagentic AI might be used in
state governments in the comingyears since we have this base?
Are we are we really trying tothink, you know, how could we
actually use it in stategovernment?
Amy Glasscock (05:31):
Yeah, so I think a big way that states are going
to be looking at using it iscitizen services.
So, you know, AI agents helpingresidents navigate government
services.
So it can automatically fillforms, retrieve documents, check
eligibility, completemulti-step transactions.
And in fact, you know, we'veseen um in the press that Alaska
is exploring agenticcapabilities in their My Alaska
(05:55):
portal for citizen services.
Another way would be withinternal government operations.
So, you know, automating someof those administrative
workflows, um using it foremployee onboarding, compliance
monitoring, procurementprocesses, knowledge management
updates, and also foroperational efficiency.
So detecting anomalies orfraud, um important, you know,
(06:18):
cybersecurity partner,identifying procurement
bottlenecks, monitoringcompliance risk.
So uh we also have seen thatTennessee is exploring agentic
capabilities in their nextgeneration ERP systems.
So looking into that.
Wow.
Also for service management, soAI agents helping manage
citizen complaints and servicerequests.
(06:40):
Uh, we have seen that Texas DOTDepartment of Transportation is
piloting AI agents to helpassign and resolve citizen
complaints faster.
So I think a lot more stateswill be looking at that.
Alex Whitaker (06:52):
Okay, wow.
So so this isn't just in thetheoretical.
I mean, we're really looking atsome ways that can this can be
incorporated and improvedservices.
That's that's reallyfascinating.
But um, you know, for me, onething that stood out in the
report is that Agenic AI, andyou just talked about this, um,
can actually take actions ratherthan just generate content,
which is, you know, a hugeshift.
Um, but tell us why that's sucha big shift for government
(07:13):
technology teams.
Amy Glasscock (07:14):
Yeah.
So, you know, with generativeAI, humans are still performing
the actions.
Uh with Agenic AI, AI can beginexecuting parts of the workflow
itself.
So, you know, with generativeAI, it's creating stuff, but
humans are still doing the work,and with Igentic, the AI can
start doing some of the work.
So this matters because, youknow, we all know that
(07:36):
government work is filled withcomplex processes, multi-step
workflows, and agentic AI cancoordinate, you know, across
systems, track progress acrossmultiple steps, and then of
course escalate issues to humanswhen necessary, which is an
important aspect of all of this.
Um, there is a possibility fora huge productivity impact.
(07:57):
So some of the research that uhI saw when I was writing this
report was you know 30 to 60percent time savings and
significant acceleration ofprocesses.
So this is important becauseyou know, we have talked about
the workforce shortages thatstates are facing.
You have this, you know,growing retiring workforce and
(08:18):
also increasing service demands.
So agentic could help employeesbecome a lot more productive.
And it's interesting, uh, thepolicy team was sharing an
article here at NASIO a few daysago about how as it becomes
easier and smoother and sort ofa better, more streamlined
experience for citizens whenthey interact with state
government, then actually theremight be more demand for
(08:41):
services from state governmentbecause you're sort of reducing
some of that friction.
So that's an interesting aspectto think about as well.
Alex Whitaker (08:48):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I I know I, for one,and I I try to work on this, but
I tend to be a little bit morepessimistic on some of these
things.
You know, when I mentioned themovies earlier, I tend to think
of the movies where it's youknow, agentic AI has has gone
terribly wrong.
Amy Glasscock (09:01):
Yeah.
Alex Whitaker (09:02):
Um and I try not to do that.
So and I know you you justmentioned a little bit of the
you know, the the pluses, theopportunities, but any other
kind of big opportunities forstates that you might want to
mention about if they do umadopt agentic AI thoughtfully,
they can help my uh put some ofmy anxiety at bay.
Amy Glasscock (09:17):
Yeah.
So, you know, like I talkedabout supporting the workforce,
which has a shortage, helpingcitizens, you know, there's they
still in many cases arestruggling to navigate
government services.
So just kind of helping guideresidents through services from
start to finish, clearing outbacklogs, automating routine
tasks and doing things moreefficiently, reducing
(09:39):
administrative bottlenecks, youknow, just sort of those kind of
basic things to boost up thewith the workforce in states.
Alex Whitaker (09:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
But um, so well, those arethose are great, and I'm glad
there are some some obviouspositives, but it it's not in my
nature to not look at the riskstoo.
So um, you know, you do talkabout risks as well.
Um so what are the biggestrisks for governance or security
concerns that states shouldalso be thinking about as they
they start to go down this road?
Amy Glasscock (10:05):
Yeah, so I would say this is probably like the
the most we've written aboutlike security and risk in an in
the AI report at NASIO.
Um because, you know, when youstart thinking about AI
autonomy, agentic AI can accesssystems, it can move data
around, it can trigger actionsacross platforms.
So if it's misused ormanipulated, or if it just kind
(10:27):
of goes rogue, you know,obviously it can cause
large-scale issues quickly.
So some of the key risk areas Ithink that states should
consider are securityvulnerabilities.
So, you know, AI agents uhagain can be manipulated to
access sensitive data, escalateprivileges, and trigger
unauthorized actions, whichwould all be very scary.
(10:48):
There are data and privacyrisks.
So if you have an AI that'sinteracting with multiple
systems, obviously thatincreases exposure.
And then, of course, trust andworkforce concerns.
So some government workersstill remain, you know, cautious
or skeptical about AI adoption.
So that's something that, youknow, has to be considered as
well.
(11:09):
So we did put in some kind ofrecommended safeguards in the
report.
And so some of those are thatstates should focus on, you
know, making sure you have humanapproval for any high-risk
actions, of course, strictlimits on AI permissions, and
then continuous monitoring andlogging.
So, you know, you really havean handle on what it's allowed
(11:30):
to do and you're keeping a closewatch.
So the overall approach shouldbe kind of, you know, agenic AI
should be treated as powerful,but untrusted by default for
states.
Alex Whitaker (11:40):
Awesome.
Well, those all sound really umreassuring that there are some
safeguards that we can put outthere too.
So I really appreciate youtalking about the report.
Um, so we will put a link inthe show notes, but everyone can
also find it in the NASIOResource Center on our website,
which I really encourageeveryone to do.
Um, because it's a reallyfascinating report, Amy.
Amy Glasscock (11:58):
Thanks.
It was fun.
Alex Whitaker (11:59):
Um but of yeah, good, good.
But of course, um, we have tohave a little fun before we end
this episode with a lightninground.
Are you ready?
Amy Glasscock (12:09):
I'm ready.
Alex Whitaker (12:10):
Okay, so let's keep it going with AI.
Um, and if you could have an AIagent handle one everyday task
in your life right now, and thatcan be work or personal, what
would it be?
Amy Glasscock (12:20):
Well, I wish I could say doing dishes, but
that's physical AI, which we'renot really there yet.
It's probably probably arelief.
Um, so I would say, you know,we are um kind of in the home
stretch of this upstairs editionon our home.
And so I feel like I am liketrying to figure out all these
details lately.
So if I just had an agent thatwas like really smart about all
(12:41):
the things I care about thatcould just go find products for
me to buy, like, you know, alight fixture or trim for my
windows, like that would be thatwould be really useful, which
it kind of is, but like notperfect yet.
Alex Whitaker (12:54):
Yeah, no, that makes sense.
You can get some weird thingsshowing up at your doorstep.
Amy Glasscock (12:58):
Or like, oh, this is a thousand dollars more than
I was really hoping to spend.
Alex Whitaker (13:02):
Well, maybe it would stick to a budget.
That would be a good thing.
Amy Glasscock (13:04):
Yeah, I think that would be a key uh risk uh
permission.
Alex Whitaker (13:08):
Yeah.
All right.
So spring is finally arriving,and it certainly is here in DC,
and I think it is in Lexingtontoo.
Uh, but what is one thing youlook forward to every year when
the weather warms up?
Amy Glasscock (13:19):
Um, for sure, all of the beautiful flowers that
start blooming and seeing whatmy landscaping will do as spring
and summer arrive, it's alwaysa little bit like better every
year.
We invested in some landscapingin like December of 2023.
And you know, the first summerit was okay, but then the next
summer I was like, oh wow, likethis is awesome.
So I can't wait to see what itlooks like this year.
(13:41):
And of course you got to getthrough the pollen season, but
you know, I'll take it.
Alex Whitaker (13:45):
Yeah.
All right.
And finally, what is one AItool or technology that still
feels a little bit like magic toyou?
Amy Glasscock (13:53):
Um for me, it is like how good it has gotten at
creating images.
And uh, you know, I think we'vementioned this a couple times
on the podcast, but I do someinterior design work on the
side.
And so I used to think like,oh, one of these days I'm gonna
sit down and figure out how touse Photoshop, you know, but now
like I don't think I'll everhave to because I can take a
(14:14):
picture of someone's kitchen andjust say, show me what this
would look like with, you know,this backsplash and this
countertop.
And it's like so good now.
Um, it's really been a hugejump in like the last six months
or so.
Alex Whitaker (14:27):
No, for sure.
And you know, I feel bad forthe graphic design industry.
I I really do.
It's tough.
But yeah, I just I also agree.
I always wanted to learnPhotoshop, but don't think I
need to anymore.
Amy Glasscock (14:36):
Yeah, yeah.
You still get to be thedirector, you know.
So but yeah, huge time savingstoo.
Alex Whitaker (14:43):
Sure.
All right.
Well, Amy, I think that's itfor today, but thank you so
much.
I know this is reallyfascinating.
And again, everybody shouldcheck out that report.
Amy Glasscock (14:50):
Great.
Thanks, Alex.
Alex Whitaker (14:51):
Yeah, thank you.
Amy Glasscock (14:52):
Thanks again for listening to NASCIO Voices.
NASCIO Voices is a productionof the National Association of
State CIOs.
Learn more at NASCIO.org.
Alex Whitaker (15:01):
We'll be back in two weeks with this to be State
CIO, Craig Orgeron.
Subscribe to the podcast so youdon't miss it.
Amy Glasscock (15:06):
Talk to you soon.
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