On the Priorities podcast, Brian Tardiff, the newly-appointed chief information officer of Rhode Island, says he’ll continue the work underway from his predecessor, and will keep a solid focus on cybersecurity from his previous role as the state’s chief information security officer.
https://statescoop.com/brian-tardiff-rhode-island-cio-transform-state-technology/

In the news this week:

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon says a new bill that would allow the state to begin issuing a digital currency is underdeveloped, but he allowed to it to become law anyway without a signature. 
https://statescoop.com/wyoming-first-state-stablecoin-mark-gordon/

Grace Simrall, the chief of civic innovation and technology at Louisville, Kentucky, says she’s stepping down.
https://statescoop.com/grace-simrall-louisville-kentucky-civic-innovation-chief-resigns/

The cryptocurrency exchange OKcoin suspended trading of the two city-based digital currencies operated by CityCoins.
https://statescoop.com/citycoins-suspended-trading-miamicoin-nyccoin/

StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast is available every Thursday. 
Listen more here.

New Rhode Island CIO focuses on digital transformation, cyber

On this week's Priorities podcast, Alaska’s Chief Information Officer Bill Smith talks about the challenges and successes of his state's cloud migration, which so far has included the migration of over 700 state applications from physical data centers into the cloud without interrupting service to the residents of Alaska.

StateScoop’s Priorities podcast is available every Thursday. 
Listen more here.
www.prioritiespodcast.com

Inside Alaska's cloud migration

On this week's Priorities podcast, Washington state Chief Information Officer Bill Kehoe says he thinks the state's recent executive order could help agencies better understand the many implications AI has for their operations.
https://statescoop.com/washington-governor-signs-ai-order-plotting-yearlong-policy-path/

StateScoop’s Priorities podcast is available every Thursday. 
Listen more here.
prioritiespodcast.com

Washington's AI order could boost awareness in government, CIO says

On this week’s Priorities podcast, two IT leaders from Normal, Illinois, say the future of the “smart cities” movement may be in small cities like theirs. Vasu Gadhiraju, the CIO of Normal, Illinois — a town in central Illinois with 54,000 residents — says that while the phrase “smart cities” means different things to different communities, it indicates an attempt to embrace change and innovation to solve government challenges in her city. Gadhiraju, along with project and resource manager Sara Schelinksi, outline how the city approaches their smart city and data efforts, and how they’re aiming for growth in the future.

StateScoop’s Priorities podcast is available every Thursday. 

If you want to hear more of the latest across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, and Spotify.

Why small cities need to be ‘smart’

On this week's Priorities podcast, New Jersey's Chief Innovation Officer says that digital services are a top focus for him as he steps into the role. Dave Cole, who took the helm of the state's innovation team in January, says he's also looking at how the state can incorporate generative artificial intelligence into processes to save employees time. Cole started at the state in 2020 as an innovation fellow, and has also ran for public office, worked for software company Mapbox and served in the White House under President Barack Obama.

How New Jersey's new innovation lead approaches digital services

On this week's Priorities podcast, four state chief information security officers say generative AI presents an opportunity for states to embrace an emerging technology and "really do things right."

During a panel discussion at StateScoop's Cybersecurity Modernization Summit this week, Vitaliy Panych, the CISO of California, says he's trying to overlay security controls into the entire process of how the state is embracing generative AI. California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a report on how the state will approach the technology last year.

Panych was joined on the panel by West Virginia CISO Danielle Cox, Maryland CISO Greg Rogers and Pennsylvania CISO James Sipe.

How state CISOs are thinking about generative AI

On this week's Priorities podcast, two experts from the International Association of Privacy Professionals join us to discuss what's coming down the pipeline this year in state legislatures regarding data privacy, as 17 states are currently considering at least one privacy bill in committee. 

Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, the managing director of IAPP, and Andrew Folks, IAPP's Westin Research Fellow, break down this slew of legislation, and what consumers and privacy practitioners can expect as new laws take effect in the coming weeks and months. They also discuss how the three states with comprehensive privacy laws going into effect this year —  Montana, Oregon and Texas — have been preparing for the new data regulations. 

Plus, the pair talk about Washington’s landmark My Health My Data Act, which is coming online this month and will cement the state as the first in the nation to offer broad protections for consumer health data. And lastly, the experts tell StateScoop about how upcoming privacy legislation is interacting with state level efforts to govern artificial intelligence usage.

Privacy experts on what's trending this year in state legislation

On this week’s Priorities podcast, Debbie Cox Bultan, chief executive of NewDeal, a nonprofit that works with government officials on democratic policies, joins us to discuss how state legislators and election officials are combatting AI-generated deepfakes. As states across the country race to pass legislation that targets the production of AI-generated deepfakes in an effort to curb deceptive information practices ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Bultan says tabletop exercises and public information campaigns can also help. New Deal recently released a report that advises election officials on how to mitigate disinformation campaigns in their states. 

StateScoop’s Priorities podcast is available every Thursday. Listen more here.

If you want to hear more of the latest across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, and Spotify.

How state lawmakers and election officials are fighting AI deepfakes

On this week’s Priorities podcast, Christia Hallquist, director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, and Heryn Herzog, the board’s communications and outreach manager, talk about the creation of the documentary “Connected: Vermont’s Grassroots Effort for Rural Broadband.” 

The documentary, which was released in March, explores the parallels between Vermont’s grassroot-effort to connect homes with electricity decades ago and how that spirit is still alive and well today when it comes to making fiber optic internet available to all Vermonters. Throughout the documentary, viewers hear from a wide range of residents who all rely on an internet connection at home to grow their businesses, access healthcare and education.

Vermont broadband documentary explores role of community in connectivity

Abdullah Hammoud at Google Cloud Next '24

Earlier this month, the North Carolina 911 Board, a division of the N.C. Department of Information Technology, announced the state has completed a yearslong effort to modernize its aging emergency response system to a next-generation 911 platform.

​​Next-generation 911 provides a faster, more resilient system that allows digital information — including voice, photos, videos and text messages — to flow from the public to first responders.

North Carolina’s project to upgrade to next-generation 911 started nearly a decade ago, when a proof of concept in 2015 outlined the transition away from the state’s decades-old copper-wire system. 

Pokey Harris, executive director of the North Carolina 911 Board spoke to StateScoop about how North Carolina’s 124 emergency call centers that receive funding from the state board are now part of the state’s next-generation 911 network.

North Carolina completes transition to next-generation 911

Each week, the Priorities Podcast will take you through the latest in state and local government technology news and analysis. The program will explore trending stories throughout the week, as well as feature conversations with top executives across government and industry on things like modernization, emerging technology and digital services.

New Rhode Island CIO focuses on digital transformation, cyber

Priorities Podcast

Related tracks