Idaho preps to roll out artificial intelligence in state government

halbergman via Getty Images

Idaho’s Office of Information Technology is preparing to share guidance on using AI with state agencies.

This article was originally published by Idaho Capital Sun.

Visitors to the Idaho Division of Human Resources’s website can get quick answers from a new chatbot — powered by artificial intelligence, or AI — that combs through state government websites.

So, we asked it: “How many state employees does Idaho have?”

The chatbot’s answer didn’t make sense. The tool falsely claimed nearly a third of Idaho’s over 2 million population works for the state.

(Screenshot)

“Idaho has approximately 713,015 state employees as indicated by the most recent data available,” the chatbot replied.

The right answer, though, depends on how you ask the question.

When you ask more specifically about how many “active” state employees there are, Idaho HR Administrator Janelle White explained, you can get a better answer.

“Idaho currently has approximately 23,546 active state employees employed across various government agencies,” the chatbot replied, according to a screenshot she shared with the Idaho Capital Sun.

The chatbot is one of the few ways Idaho state government agencies are already using AI. But with high interest — and concern — from state agencies and employees, Idaho’s Office of Information Technology Services is preparing a yearslong plan with guidance on how to responsibly use AI in state government.

“While we’re measuring and mitigating risks, we’re making sure that we’re not getting in the way of it being launched. We want to — we really want to unleash this to the workforce,” Idaho Office of Information Technology Services Administrator Alberto Gonzalez said in an interview. “I’m a huge fan of automation and machine learning already anyways, because it can make government way more effective and more efficient. And I believe that those that are not using automation are doing a disservice to the state.”

By August, Idaho Agencies Could Start Using Tools Like ChatGPT

By August, Gonzalez said Idaho state government agencies can start using publicly available tools like ChatGPT or Gemini in public facing chatbots, which have been largely blocked. 

Idaho Office of Information Technology Services Administrator Alberto Gonzalez. (Courtesy of Idaho Office of Information Technology Services)

To him, the use cases for AI in state government are “endless.” The technology can be used for routine tasks, like customer service and data entry, to quicken time-intensive reports, and even to detect fraud, waste and abuse, he said. 

One of the biggest AI concerns for state employees is how widely data can be accessed, or data governance, Gonzalez said. That’s part of what goes into the IT office’s work with state agencies to prepare them to roll out AI tools.

Some national experts also say AI could reduce the workforce. That could be true, Gonzalez acknowledged, but it would take a while.

Using the technology more could mean agencies automate more tasks to free staff time up, he said. “So then you can use that staff to do something — either slow down the growth, so that you don’t have to grow government … or potentially through attrition, you could reduce the workforce by leveraging AI,” Gonzalez said. 

“I know that that’s a more sensitive topic, but I’m talking over years,” he said. 

Last month, the agency announced the guidance to state lawmakers at the Idaho Legislature’s AI Working Group. But the guidance hasn’t been shared with agencies yet while it’s under legal review. The Idaho Capital Sun obtained a copy of the draft guidance through a public records request. 

Idaho Would Carefully Roll Out, Refine AI Tools Over Two Years, Under Draft Plan

The draft AI guidance lays out a four-step plan — over two years — to implement AI in Idaho state government agencies.

First, Idaho would set up a foundation — establishing structures to govern AI use, roles for state agencies and departments, oversight and more. 

Then, Idaho would initially implement AI in pilot runs. Later, Idaho would expand implementation and continue to fine tune AI’s use in state government. 

“Idaho’s tiered guidance model applies rigorous scrutiny to high-risk systems and streamlines review for low-risk applications,” the draft guidance’s introduction reads. “This structure empowers the state to capture immediate value from early implementations and build institutional capacity systematically. Through this balanced approach, Idaho is poised to transform its citizen services, operational workflows, and decision-making culture, anchoring it in data-driven insights and public accountability.”

And building trust is one of the main goals.

“Every AI system will meet clear standards for explainability, auditability, and ethical alignment,” a short summary of the guidance reads. “Transparency isn’t optional, it’s foundational.”

Congress Ditched 10-Year Ban on State AI Regulations. Idaho Has Three AI Laws. 

Initially, Congress’s massive federal spending and tax cut bill that became law last week would’ve blocked states from regulating AI through state laws for 10 years. But the U.S. Senate nearly unanimously removed the moratorium, States Newsroom reported.

In 2024, Idaho passed three laws to regulate AI — targeting explicit and political deep fakes, and AI-generated material that is exploitative of children.

At the Legislature’s AI work group’s meeting last month, the Idaho Office of Information Technology Services shared copies of its draft AI guidance with state lawmakers for review. 

The Idaho HR AI Chatbot Still Can’t Tell You the Number of State Employees

For the rollout of the public HR chatbot, the Idaho Division of Human Resources worked with the Office of Information Technology Services, White told the Sun. 

The Sun sent her a screenshot of the chatbot appearing to wildly overestimate Idaho’s state employee workforce. She, and the Idaho DMV administrator, both suggested they would’ve asked it differently — with more specific details, like asking for the active workforce.

“The information provided by the chatbot will only be as good as the question asked [and the information it has access to],” White said in an email on Monday. “… Part of the learning curve with AI and chatbots, is being really good at asking questions!”

(Screenshot)

But on Tuesday, when the Sun asked the chatbot the same question White asked, the chatbot couldn’t answer.

“I don’t have the current number of active state employees available,” it said. 

Idaho DMV is Using an AI Chatbot. But Only For Internal Testing Right Now.

The Idaho Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, is also using an AI-powered chatbot as part of a pilot project. But the tool is only available for some DMV employees to use for testing — and is not yet open to the public, officials say.

It won’t go public until it’s refined, Idaho DMV Administrator Lisa McClellan told the Sun in an interview. 

“Until it’s ready for prime time, we won’t even use it internally in our production environment,” she said.

Drawing from internal policy documents, manuals and Idaho state laws, the tool is meant to quicken the process of searching through reams of information, she explained. The tool doesn’t have access to any personally identifiable information, she said. 

Only a handful of ITD employees, who mostly already know the answers to the questions they ask the tool, are using it, McClellan said. Right now, they’re testing how accurate its answers are, and learning how to best ask questions to get correct answers, she said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.