Senate Urban Affairs Committee, October 6, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1232130615 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1232130615#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-10-06/senate-urban-affairs This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:26:00] Thank you for being here. We're running a little late because we were waiting on at least two other senators, uh, who are on the committee. So we'll start in just a few minutes. And thank you for being here, and thank you for all the things that you're gonna tell us this morning. I'm looking forward to hearing it and moving forward in the State of Georgia. We the leaders anyway, you know that. I'm Donzella James and, and I'm, I'm, uh, always just me. [0:26:32] So I'm not too formal this morning. It's too early in the morning. Okay, you ready? You wanna... Okay, get him. [0:26:48] So please, if you, uh, are not, uh, one of the invited guests who will be speaking, if you have any questions, please sign up, or any comments, please sign up for us right here on this paper. [0:27:05] Don't we need- [0:27:06] Hm? [0:27:06] Don't we need quorum to start? [0:27:09] Um, no. [0:27:10] Or you just, uh, 'cause you're not voting on anything. [0:27:12] Because this is- [0:27:13] You're not voting on anything [0:27:14] ... this is- [0:27:15] Okay, cool [0:27:17] ... we do need one, one more person. I know that, uh- Who is coming in ... Lucas- Is coming in ... but he was coming from Macon- Macon ... so he's not here. Who else? Who else is coming? Wicks. And Senator Wicks. So just give us a few minutes. And then see who does show to the quorum. [0:37:02] Sure. [0:37:03] 127 just emailed. I'm Senator Donzella James, and this is, uh, we're calling to order our Urban Affairs meeting at, what time is it? At 10:24 right now. This, uh, meeting, or this series of meetings is being called as per the Senate Resolution 789, uh, which was a study committee that passed and was signed into law by our governor. [0:37:39] But, uh, since I was the author of that study committee resolution, uh, I was asked to, uh, put it in our committee, uh, rather than assign members, uh, in the Senate to serve on it. So our Urban Affairs Committee, uh, has been very interested in this issue, and they are astute when it comes to AI, and you'll see that in a few minutes. [0:38:11] Uh, let me [0:38:15] ask each one of our members at this time to, uh, say hello and tell you their names. We'll start with, uh, Senator Kemp. [0:38:29] Good morning. Uh, State Senator RaShaun Kemp. I represent Senate District 38, which is in Fulton County from Sandy Springs down to Palmetto. [0:38:38] Put him on mute. Thank you. [0:38:43] Good morning. State Senator Nikki Merritt. I represent the 9th district that covers Gwinnett County, Grayson, Lawrenceville, and Lilburn. [0:38:50] Thanks. Senator Sheikh Rahman, Senate District 5, uh, parts of, uh, in Gwinnett County, parts of Lawrenceville, Norcross, Tucker, Duluth, and Lilburn. Thank you. [0:39:00] That's where they come from, but the Urban Affairs Committee serves all 159 counties of this state, and so we actually represent th- these different issues on urban affairs throughout. So at this time, I'd like to, uh, start now with just a welcome opening, and then we will have our, uh, Senate 28, uh, advisor and ambassador, uh, Calvin Anderson, who has been working with me on this issue. [0:39:38] He's a professor, and we're gonna have him come up as soon as I, uh, do the wel- open welcoming. We are being streamed, so I'll, we'll be more, uh, professional now instead of having a good party, good time party here. So I welcome you to the hearing of the Georgia Urban Affairs Committee 21st Century Community Forums for Artificial Intelligence Progress in the State of Georgia. [0:40:10] The Georgia Senate Committee on Urban Affairs proudly announces today the launch of the 21st Century Community Forums for AI Progress, a comprehensive study committee convened to bridge the gap for the public understanding and void, also a void between the rapidly evolving technology known as artificial intelligence, AI, and the drastically misunderstood needs of Georgia constituents. [0:40:48] So let's say that again in another way. In 2026, our artificial intelligence is advancing faster than the public ever understood it would do, and we as legislators in Georgia have a responsibility to make sure that every Georgian has a voice in how these technologies affect our lives and our- communities. [0:41:22] We will convene a four forum series planned by the Urban Affairs Committee targeting feedback from Atlanta, where two will be held. One will be held in Savannah, Georgia, and one in Athens, Georgia. Participating alongside with government leaders, educators, and technology pro-professionals will be student constituents, business and AI experts with recorded public dialogue about the needs and the assessments and concerns that we have about AI at this time. [0:42:03] So we wanna see the pros and cons, we'll talk about that, and the solutions, uh, to put safeguards in place, uh, when, where needed. We will be reviewing AI, uh, perceived pros and cons, the civic health suggestions and recommendations, the K through 12 and post-secondary education, work and business opportunity, increasing public senior citizen involvement, and support and inform the community problems to be investigated and solved. [0:42:43] You know, it's been a government arm on this AI all over this country, where they want to put things in place, but they have not moved to do very much. I think it's at least two states that, uh, have passed something, and we'll look at that. But we also have, um, legislation from some of our members who have been working very hard. They had a AI study committee, uh, last year, uh, and they brought recommendations. [0:43:18] Uh, forthcoming, uh, will be those recommendations that they have brought that did not pass and was not, uh, discussed in this past session. So the forum design wi-will adhere to a much needed human in the loop constituent service model, which has a government service principle requiring that community members and institutional stakeholders seek out AI as a supporting instrument for constituent services, and not as a solo high-tech advancement tool with no human consensus between technology leaders and the public. [0:44:04] Our proud state leaders will have designated conversations at the juncture of artificial intelligence, uh, generative intelligence history, and in this first of a kind effort to assure the much needed efforts to grow government services, educational opportunities, and the high demand talent pipeline and workforce, while also exploring critical issues such as public trust, the fraud and misinformation, the preventions that we need to have to stop the fraud, workforce readiness and responsibility innovation. [0:44:54] The in-initiative will include five community forums, which we already mentioned will start with this one as the first, and it will be held throughout the legislative interim, culminating in the Urban Affairs Committee AI Public Good Summit this De-December. And feedback, uh, that we've gathered through this and the other four hearings will be included, and we will come up with the recommendations to give to, uh, our 2027, uh, legislative session. [0:45:37] And we have some new members that will be joining us at that time, and we are making all this information available to each one. Remember, there's no real playbook for AI's advancement development in our human history, and by fostering a direct dialogue throughout the State of Georgia, we're cr-creating a responsible environment where industry advancement and public good are not separate goals, but a shared mission for the benefit of all Georgians. [0:46:14] So these, uh, forum, uh, series will move beyond traditional debate to focus on practical, collaborative outcomes, including the responsible innovation guardrails, establishing a framework for ethical AI use that protects civil rights, privacy, and community accountability while fostering economic growth. Strategic industry alignment is one of the topics that we are going to concentrate on, and providing the AI developers and business leaders, uh, will give us a real... [0:46:58] Will engage with us and talk about the real wor-world community, and the feedback will be built safer, more trusted, and more useful tools. [0:47:12] Our constituent empowerment residents have a direct voice on how AI tools are designated to improve government services, language access, and public information, collaborative workforce development, connecting colleges, trade schools, and employers to build the gap between emerging AI capabilities and future career paths Georgia leaders in this bipartisan initiative are embarking on creating state committee hearings for policies that can unify three distinct forces into a single cohesive government's framework: executive economic momentum and legislative regulatory guardrails and grassroots c- constituent protection. [0:48:08] So these sessions will operate under strict ethical guidelines to ensure that our industry partnerships remain transparent. You know, uh, it was very interesting to me that, uh, I cut on TikTok yesterday, and I saw myself, my face, my body, my voice, in a kitchen that doesn't exist in my house, in my world, and I was making tea and coffee and talking to everyone and saying, "Oh, I've, I've done a great job." At least they made me look cute, y'all, okay? [0:48:50] I've seen some AI that, uh, I probably would've been, uh, trying to go and file a suit this morning against somebody. But, uh, no, I said, "Wow, what is this?" And they kept s- saying I was Donzella J-- It had my voice. Now that's a concern. I was glad that we are having these hearings, that we're gonna look at some things, because that could've been criminal. It was not, and nobody has access to my TikTok except Diego right here. [0:49:28] And Die- Diego... [0:49:33] You wouldn't do it, right? [0:49:34] No, ma'am. [0:49:35] Okay. Thank you. So I'm convinced that, uh, innovative, uh, thrives when it's rooted in public trust. So this committee ensures that as we embrace the opportunities of the 21st century, and we will do so with the foundation of strategic cooperation, so that leaves no constince- constituent behind. So we are going to, at this point, call our first speaker. [0:50:11] Okay. And I would like to get Calvin, uh, Anderson here to tell you what we've been doing to prepare and why we are preparing this and what we've looked at already. So, uh, Mr. Anderson, thank you very much. Will you-- You wanna go ahead and sit there? [0:50:37] Good morning. Uh, William Calvin Anderson. Uh, I was former chief of staff for Senator Donzella James and, uh, an advisor for this, um, study group. Um, it is a phenomenal opportunity, obviously historic, and the wave of conversation around the nation is about artificial intelligence and AI right now, and its, um, threats and its promise. Uh, the historic moment that we're in with your capable, um, attention, especially the, uh, Urban Affairs Committee with its own districts throughout the state and all of the, uh, age- interagency support is, um, is a marvel. [0:51:22] The governor, um, without a playbook, set up a data center concentration in the state. Without the playbook, you're going to run into issues in terms of development and advancement. Without the data centers as a state, we will be in the lurch in the future when it comes to, um, our modern society, business, and growth and development in the state. [0:51:55] Top state for talent is talking about a people pipeline. Uh, when you talk about AI and its development for all constituencies, particularly, uh, the citizenry and the constituents and the districts in the state, is re- it requires the infrastructure of AI. So this is a very important moment in history and in the nation. It has proliferated as an issue in the last even three weeks. [0:52:29] So it, it-- that's the perspective and-- but there is a three-legged teamwork that's bipartisan in this. The infrastructure that's come, um, from the governor's office with the, the interagency pipeline of, um, top state for talent for the economy. Then what Senator Albers has done w- uh, with, um, the advancements by, um, Senator, um, Mer- Merritt, um, in terms of oversight and governance to pro- p- to begin that type of infrastructure. [0:53:05] So infrastructure for the technology, infrastructure for, uh, the, um, the interagency operation of top state for talent in that regard too. And then finally, the threshold so that all citizenry in every pocket, every denomination, every age group might benefit, uh, from what is being developed. So having the forums for that type of outreach and input is the ethical thing to do for inclusion of all parts. [0:53:45] So this three-legged bipartisan effort- has a national scope, a national, um, uh... It should be praised throughout the nation. There's one part that we haven't talked about yet, and, a- and I would add that, that w- doesn't need to be just covered in the forums, but we need to also look at our senior citizens. Now that, um, the cellphone has become the main apparatus for, uh, the internet and engagement with AI, we need to have some oversight over how this is, can be used by seniors without the interruption of fraud and without any other complications. [0:54:34] Um, so we will be putting on the table, uh, the possibility of licensure in terms of repairs for seniors in terms of this particular technology so that, um, it prevents them from fraudulent behaviors from outsiders and, um, a lack of bonding and oversight by law enforcement and the rest. So there are many things that we can't cover in this short period of time, but, uh, we will hear from inter-agency people, uh, interdepartmental people about what's already going on so that the wraparound is a magnificent opportunity for the state and the nation. [0:55:16] And thank you so much, and Senator Donzella, for your time. [0:55:19] Thank you. And, uh, members, do you have any questions of Mr. Anderson? Mr. Anderson, thank you, and if you wanna come and sit up here with us, maybe on the end or- [0:55:32] Thank you [0:55:33] ... or, or better yet, you gonna critique us, so sit down. [0:55:38] All right. [0:55:39] Thank you. [0:55:39] You want me to sit? [0:55:40] Yeah. Thank you very much. Um, we have, uh, invited several guests. Um, before we do that, before we call them up to speak to us, um, I'd like to h- have two of our members to, uh, give a, a brief report. Senator, uh, Rahman, on the end, where you can provide a summary for both, uh, Senator Albers' study committee and Senator Harrell's study committee. [0:56:14] Um, and then we'll have, uh, you, Senator Nikki. So go ahead and start. Let me get you... [0:56:26] Thank you. Good morning. [0:56:27] Good morning. [0:56:28] And thank you for being here. Uh, I'm gonna talk about, uh, during the 2025, uh, interim session, I had the opportunity to serve the study committee on the impact of social media and artificial intelli- intelligence on children and platform, platform priva- privacy protection. Alongside my, uh, fellow committee members, we heard from parents, educators, mental health professionals, pediatricians, technology ex- expert, and state agencies about how rapidly technology is changing the way our children learn, communicate, and grow. [0:57:09] One thing became very clear. Throughout our work, technology had changed faster than our laws and protection that we have. Our children are growing up in an environment where social media and artificial intelligence are increasingly part of everyday life. These technologies offer tremendous opportunities, but they are present real concern around privacy, mental health, addictive design, online safety, and the healthy development of childrens. [0:57:49] The committee recommendation focused on several key areas. Stronger protection for children privacy, greater accountability for the design of online platforms. We need to prepare for the growing roles of artifish- of artificial intelligence, create opportunities for children to be children, to learn and connect with their peers without technology constantly competing for their attention. [0:58:25] As a father and a legislator, I believe our responsibility is to make that the innovation does not come at the expense of our children's privacy, safety, mental health, or development. Our goal should not be to keep childrens away from technology, but to make sure the technology works for children and families. It's not the other way around. Thank you very much. [0:58:55] Thank you very much. Any questions? Okay, we'll go on, and senator- [0:59:00] Okay. Uh, thank you, Chairwoman. [0:59:02] Mm-hmm. [0:59:02] So I'm gonna walk us back a little bit. I know we're in this moment now, and we- we're hearing a lot about AI, and now we know what happens when there's no regulation. In 2024, consumer advocacy groups came to talk to me, and they said, "Hey, there's a problem with AI. It's surveilling wages. It's making decisions basing, based on discriminatory information, and it's causing harm." In 2020... This was 2024, prior to our 2025 legislative session. [0:59:34] So out of those conversations, I was able to work with these consumer advocacy groups and come up with... I have three pieces of legislation I introduced, but two in 2025 I introduced at the start of the 2025 legislative session. The first one was SB 164 It was to regulate algorithmic discrimination that AI was performing on behalf of companies to make decisions about workers and wage... [1:00:04] But, uh, that's a different one. I have a age- I have a wage discrimination. But this one was discrimination and using that information to make decisions like on people's healthcare, on how much they should pay for certain services. So companies that are using this information via AI are- were using it and still are using algorithms in this way. Now, of course, we didn't know at the time, and I think many consumers didn't know this was happening. And, you know, our laws, you know, in the United States require that you cannot discriminate based on religion, sex, disability, um, any racial bias. [1:00:48] These are, like, legal principles of our country, right? We know humans cannot do that. But what happens when you have a machine, a computer, a algorithm that's doing it? Who's to be held accountable? So SB 164 was to hold those companies accountable for using it and also disclosing to consumers that you are doing it. This was SB 164. It did get a hearing by Chairman Beach at the time when he was here. [1:01:18] Um, when we had the hearing, everybody looked at me like we grew horns and didn't know what to do with the information at the start of 2025. I'm just walking us back to history. We already knew. And w- there was try- and consumer advocacy groups were trying to make interventions then. Uh, even in this own body, as you were saying, bipartisan, I could not get bi- partisan, bipartisan support at the time to really take this seriously. [1:01:49] I'm glad after the fact that we did a study committee, and some of that components of my SB 164 are in that study committee. And all the really, all the study committee really did was outline this is the problem. SB 164 gives the mechanism and gives the teeth to go after companies that are using this data in this way. So that was SB 164. The other bill was SB 165, and, uh, I don't, I didn't have that one, but it is on here. It was one- [1:02:18] 167. [1:02:19] I have 167, and I have 165, which I'll speak about briefly. But 167 was the one I was just talking about. That is, uh, algorithmic discrimination. I also did 165, which you guys don't have, but I'll just say briefly. What that one was, it would require so fr- social media platforms to regulate minors on the internet. At that time, uh, more pushback. A lot of it was from minors. That was SB 165, and it was to hold companies like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok accountable for minors being on your platform without their parents' permission and without any regulations. [1:02:57] So I'm gonna bring y'all to two months ago. Facebook just had to pay a settlement, and now you're seeing the disclosures about minors. SB 165 was introduced in 2025, and here we are. So we already knew the problem, and then it was like, "Oops, it really is a problem. Oh, now we gotta make some amends." I do know there are some comp- components in that study committee, again, that address the problem. SB 165, which is another bill y'all don't have a copy of, gives the mechanism for enforcement yet again. [1:03:29] The final bill that I introduced, and this one was after 2025 because I felt like the other two weren't getting enough wind or... I know we did a study committee, and that's great. So my bill, SB 455, was to establish an AI- a state AI commission that the state of Georgia, um, could have led in. And what this commission requires, if- if- if you guys l- and I know everyone here has a copy of that bill, but it outlines who should be on this commission. [1:04:06] It also holds tech companies and those that are studying tech accountable to be on this commission to explain to the state how they are protecting consumers. That was the purpose of SB 455. I know we did the study committee. It outlines the problems, but it didn't give mechanisms for fixing the problems. The bills that I've drafted, the three I've talked about today, gives the state the mechanisms to enforce. It lays the groundwork. Yes, we can work out the bills, the details, but those three bills actually give the power to our state agencies to enforce these things when companies aren't disclosing, when companies aren't protecting consumers, and when companies are using AI in a way that can be abusive, uh, to Georgians. [1:04:54] So that's what the bills do, and I hope we will have some more discussions about it. Um, but I thank you, Chairwoman, for letting me talk about them today. [1:05:02] I thank you for bringing them forward because that is, uh, during my research, uh, I, I didn't know you introduced it, and I know you're on this committee- ... but I was glad to know that. And Senator Albers said that he introduced something very similar. [1:05:19] Similar. [1:05:19] And, and, uh, so he is a part of this committee too. He just, uh, could not come today. [1:05:25] Yeah. We were all, uh, uh, with that, Chair, we were all talking about the same time 'cause Senator Albers also, when I introduced my bill, um, during that time in 2025, he came in, and he's been on top of the AI too. I just wanna push that we're all working together on this. [1:05:39] Yes. [1:05:39] I think we all understand and have different components, but some real bipartisan conversation. I don't care if I'm a Democrat or you got feelings or whatever, we're all trying to fix the problem, and I think more cooperation about having everybody that has some thought and some impact and some real studies about what we can do that will be taken seriously. [1:06:00] Uh, also, uh, I have, uh, I g- I suppose because I was the second signer on the bill that, uh, gave tax credits to the film industry to, when they move here, and, and, uh, because of that I've had a, a film day at the Capitol and I've, uh, I guess interacted with, uh, many of the actors who have moved here to Georgia. And last year, or year before last, I went to, um, a play that Bill Duke's... [1:06:40] Y'all know Bill Duke's? [1:06:43] I think so. [1:06:44] He's a actor on, uh, so many things. What is he, is he on- [1:06:48] R.C.'s case [1:06:50] Commando and- [1:06:51] Predator [1:06:51] ... you na- huh? [1:06:52] Let's look it up. [1:06:53] Predator. [1:06:53] Predator and, and, uh, some very famous films, but his name is, uh, Bill Duke's. Uh, he came and sat with me and asked me to do something to protect- [1:07:04] Mm [1:07:05] ... um, the creatives, uh, for- [1:07:09] It's okay [1:07:12] ... being, uh, u- misused, e- uh, with their faces and, and their voices and the, uh, scenes that they played in different, uh, film. And they, he wanted to know what can we do to help them because he said if it was a song they could probably, uh, have royalties that will g- uh, go with a copyright or something. But with the, the actors or the writers there was nothing to protect them, uh, and AI was beginning to get even more popular. [1:07:47] So that's why, uh, Senate Resolution 789 brought us here today. And, and it basically was to increase the use throughout the film and television industries to automate tasks, uh, impact decision making and alter audience experiences. And it said, "Whereas an in- increase in the use of artificial intelligence in such industries can lead to confusion where handcrafted work is mistaken for artificial intelligence which, uh, can fuel distrust and controversy, and undisclosed use of artificial intelligence intensifies the fears of losing human creativity." So that is, um, what he asked me to do. [1:08:47] I'm tired. [1:08:47] So we ended up having film day at the Capitol. [1:08:50] I want to speak too. [1:08:51] And, uh, many of the companies came here and people like your daughter. She's in what? High school? [1:09:00] She's a senior in high school. [1:09:01] And she's pre- she's- [1:09:03] She wants to major in film. [1:09:04] Say it again. [1:09:05] She wants to major in film, and that's the, the interest that she has. She's involved in all forms of art from painting, drawing, um, to creating short films. She actually won the short film of Fulton County, which Black History Film Contest here, um- [1:09:25] This year [1:09:25] ... she's highly involved and she is highly concerned against, I could pull up, concerned with AI. [1:09:33] I don't know if everybody can hear you or not, but- [1:09:36] She wants to talk to the camera. Again, hi. I wasn't really expecting to, I wasn't gonna expect to speak today. But, um, hi everybody, I'm Christina Potts and thank you for having me here and thank you for allowing me to speak. Um, I came on behalf of the young people and particularly my daughter. Um, she again is in the film in all walks of arts, um, from painting to drawing to short movies, what she's actually enjoys doing right now, and she wants to major in film. And she's concerned about her future. [1:10:07] And let's be real, I think every artist who, who has, um, who participates in the arts and is creative, they do have a concern. Um, so there, I'm hoping that there could be some oversight and some regulations to protect this industry, to protect the young people, to protect the people who are actually in it. I don't know what way it can be implemented and I'm sure we're gonna discover that during this process and during these hearings. Um, but there is, there is a need for protection for sure. [1:10:41] Like you said with the TikTok video that you had- ... you know, people can use your voice, people can use your image. That also is, is quite scary because it doesn't necessarily have to be in a great way. It could be used in a, in a criminal way. And if our brains are not sub, capable of having the ability to decide what is real and what is not, that is highly scary. Um, and um, I think we're at the right place right now to create rules before it gets way out of control. [1:11:13] Thank you. [1:11:14] Yeah. [1:11:14] We, we, it is out of control, I can say. [1:11:16] It is already, but um, I think we have, there's hope that we could do something to make sure everything is regulated the way it should be. [1:11:23] Okay. [1:11:24] And not only will it follow, start in Georgia, but hopefully it creates nationwide. Yeah. [1:11:30] Well, Georgia has been a leader in many things, and this one we hope will be the number one for, i- i- with the community involvement rather than just experts sitting there looking at the dollar signs and what they wanna do. But to, to protect everyone and to help because it's a lot of great tools with AI- [1:11:53] Mm-hmm [1:11:54] ... that, uh, it's, it's good to use for many companies and businesses. [1:11:59] Yeah. [1:11:59] But we need, we don't want the misuse- ... of it. So that's why we're looking at this. [1:12:04] Yeah. [1:12:04] But thank you and, and, uh- [1:12:06] Yeah, thank you for having me and, uh- [1:12:07] Okay. We- [1:12:07] You know, and I'm, I'm look forward to following this and being act- actively involved citizen and constituent. And, you know, also with the schools, you know, we have the schools where they're implementing the AI, and I think that needs to be highly regulated. Um, we have children who are, you know, we're talking about elementary school, who don't have fine motor skills yet, and we're asking- [1:12:26] Mm [1:12:26] ... them, you know, "Let's win this race." Well, the race is they need to learn how to read, and they need to learn how to write before they are, um, their abilities are basically stripped away from AI, with the capability of AI. And, um, you know, if you ask any of these technical people who created these programs what facilities they have at their school, how are they teaching their kids, they make sure their students are not using AI. Their, their own students, their own children. A lot of them don't even have technology in the house. [1:12:57] Mm-hmm. [1:12:57] So I think we can look at that- [1:13:00] I- [1:13:00] ... and come up with the, uh, yeah. [1:13:02] Well, please assure your, your, uh, daughter- [1:13:06] Mm-hmm [1:13:06] ... that we will do everything, and we'll even have their input. So if she and some of her student- [1:13:12] Yes [1:13:12] ... friends want to, uh, come and talk to us or wanna just talk to me off of the record- [1:13:18] Yeah [1:13:18] ... then I'll be happy to try to implement some of their ideas. [1:13:23] Okay. I appreciate it. And, um, I, are we just talking about film today? Does anybody have an opinion about the school situation on the panel? [1:13:31] Well, we are gonna talk about- [1:13:32] Okay [1:13:32] ... w- we, we were basically introducing the forums today. [1:13:36] Okay [1:13:36] ... and what we will be doing, and, and to get input from everyone who's here, uh, from, uh, ACCG, the GMA, the Georgia Technology Authority, the, um, Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Advocates for Georgia Senior Citizens, and the computer and, uh, tech business owners. [1:14:01] Okay. [1:14:01] Uh, we wanted to just hear from them before we started, uh, really coming up with recommendations for the January session- [1:14:12] Okay [1:14:12] ... of 2027. [1:14:13] Thank you for listening. [1:14:14] Okay. [1:14:14] I appreciate it. [1:14:14] And, and it will be a part of the rec- we are streaming, and we are- [1:14:18] Okay [1:14:18] ... uh, taking notes. [1:14:19] Thank you so much. [1:14:19] So, and, and we are open also, everyone, to receive something in writing from you that we, uh, if you don't want to come to the meeting or sit in front of us and give us something, you can just, uh, email us, um... Is that the best way, Diego? Email us at donzella.james@senate.ga.gov, uh, and /urban affairs. [1:14:50] Is that- [1:14:51] Um [1:14:51] ... necessary? [1:14:53] No, ma'am. [1:14:53] I, I gotcha. I gotcha. [1:14:55] You got me. Okay. [1:14:55] I'll, I'll make sure you get- [1:14:56] Thank you [1:14:58] ... everything and, and so- [1:14:58] Thank you [1:14:59] ... um, thank you, and I'll try to get some youth out here to testify, 'cause I know that they are concerned. [1:15:05] Mm-hmm. [1:15:05] Yeah. [1:15:05] Thank you very much. [1:15:07] Mm-hmm. [1:15:08] Um, I'm gonna call on Noah [1:15:14] Ro- Roniznis. Oh, that's you. [1:15:17] Ronits. Ronits. [1:15:19] Huh? Ronits? [1:15:21] That's what it looks like. It's close. I'll give it to you in a second. [1:15:25] No cigar, but okay. Will you state your name for me? [1:15:29] Of course, Chairwoman. [1:15:30] So we won't mispronounce it. [1:15:31] Um, Noah Ronits, uh, Manager of State Relations for the Georgia Municipal Association. Uh, Chairwoman, committee members, I appreciate the opportunity to be here today. [1:15:39] Mm-hmm. [1:15:39] I'm joined by my colleague, uh, Katrina Cochran. [1:15:41] Okay. [1:15:42] We wanna talk a little bit about how AI is showing up in city council chambers and city halls all across- [1:15:47] Mm-hmm [1:15:47] ... the State of Georgia. So I think the interesting thing about AI is that it's appearing in city council halls the same way that it likely appeared in a lot of your lives, was there's an opportunity here to use ChatGPT, maybe a messenger, maybe some type of assistant. [1:16:02] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. [1:16:03] That's the first way that it showed up in a lot of city council chambers. It wasn't through a formal vote or an adoption of ordinances, it was just an employee made a decision one day to use it to help put together a flyer for a community meeting or to help put together a draft agenda for something that was coming up. So- [1:16:18] Right [1:16:18] ... we have done some interesting research. We've partnered with some groups across the state, and we've also had some recent summits to talk about AI use. And I'm gonna pass it off to Katrina to kinda talk through some of that, um, as we begin, and then we'll kinda finish by talking about some forward-looking steps where we think things could be going in the next couple years. So with that, I'll pass it off to Katrina. [1:16:37] Thank you, Noah. Um, good morning Chairlady- [1:16:40] Mm-hmm [1:16:40] ... and members of the committee. Um, our testimony actually draws on three sources. The first is a statewide local survey of, uh, local governments. Officials conducted this spring by Georgia State University's Andrew Young School in partnership with GMA, GCCMA, and ACCG. It drew from 161 responses representing roughly 30% of Georgia cities. Results right now are preliminary, and the respondents lean heavily towards small cities, so they tell us most about communities that national surveys tend to miss. [1:17:14] Um, the second, and it is a GSU graduate capstone study that GMA commissioned, which interviewed Georgia city leaders and cataloged real deployments. The third is what we heard from city officials at GMA's Broadband Summit this past month. AI shows up in local government in three ways. First is informal staff use. 61% of survey respondents report that employees use AI informally. Only 20% report that their government has officially implemented AI anywhere, and fewer than 5% describe that implementation as substantial. [1:17:49] Use is running well ahead of formal adoption. Second, AI is built into softwares that cities already use. Permitting platform, 311 systems, and public safety software increasingly ship with AI features as routine updates. Use is, um, a city may be using AI without ever having decided to Third is p- purpose-built tools, such as resident-facing chatbots and analytic pro- platforms that a city deliberately selects. Adoption also tracks closely with size. [1:18:21] Formal implementation rises from 12% among cities under 5,000 resi- residents to 34% for cities between 5,000 and 25,000, to 58% for city- cities over 25,000. Among the smallest cities, 58% say AI is not even being considered. Among the largest, none said that. We are at risk at, of a two-tier system where larger cities build capacity and smaller ones fall further behind. The most common uses are practical and administrative. [1:18:53] 80% of cities using AI use it for drafting and ed- editing, and about two-thirds for research and brainstorming. One city administrator told the GSU team that recruitment materials that once took two days now take about 30 minutes. Another city projects that a pilot of an AI research tool will save roughly 2,800 staff ho- hours a year across 35 employees. Beyond the office, Georgia cities are already doing notable work. Peachtree Corners in Atlanta use chatbots to give residents 24-hour access to answers and service requests. [1:19:28] Sandy Springs partnered with Georgia Tech to automate parts of permit review and analyze heat islands. Macon-Bibb is using AI-powered imaging to score the condition of every street and target paving dollars. Atlanta Fire Rescue used a predictive model that identified more than 6,000 commercial properties that met inspection criteria for, but were not on its list. Valdosta upgraded 128 traffic signals with smart technology, including signal preemption for emergency vehicles. [1:19:59] For our smallest towns, AI is something more basic: it's staff they cannot otherwise afford. One respondent, a local official with three decades in government and public safety, put it this way: "AI is not here to replace good judgment, experience, or common sense. But it is one of the best tools I have found to help a small city stretch limited time, limited staff, and limited resources." He closed with a line that I think sums it up. The key word is wisely. And I'll pass it back to Noah. [1:20:26] Yeah, and I, I think that's a good- [1:20:27] Thank you [1:20:28] ... I think that's a good point. You know, w- when you look at our, when you look at our membership, we represent 536 cities across the state of Georgia. Obviously, that's from, you know, Atlanta to Zebulon, or that's from, you know, Atlanta to the city of Edge Hill, based upon population, right? Um, Edge Hill, population 22. So there's a huge moat of the types of, uh, memberships we have with their demographics and population. And we see that the larger cities that we represent, they are really looking to AI as a force multiplier, as a tool that they can use to help provide services in the best way possible. [1:20:59] Um, but the juxtaposition of that is our smaller cities, who are often extremely constrained based upon the number of personnel they have, right? Maybe they're operating with five staffers and, and three or four of them are part-time. AI could provide a real good use case for them to amplify those man-hours or those personnel hours to help get the job done in a better way, but it's about connecting them with those resources. So I wanna pull off of a, a recent summit we had. We had our broadband summit, which was, um, in, uh, the city of Dublin. It was about a month ago. And the broadband summit, we've had it for about eight years now, and eight years ago, seven years ago, we were talking about the deployment of broadband dollars to the state to bring that technology to the home. [1:21:39] Well, those conversations have taken place, those deployments have happened, and we're still working with our partners at, you know, the state to deploy those capital dollars. But the impetus for us as an association in putting that together, it's kind of shifted to meet the members where they are. So a good topic of discussion at this year's broadband summit was about AI use. [1:21:58] Mm-hmm. [1:21:58] How it can help cities. A little bit about some of these permitting solutions it could provide. Um, some of this analysis of kind of maybe some, some code issues across your digest. Um, but really what stood out was that governance needs to go hand-in-hand with adoption, right? So the development of policies at the local level to govern the use of that and ensuring you always have a human in the loop. [1:22:22] Okay. [1:22:22] AI can very confidently make the wrong decision- [1:22:26] Mm-hmm [1:22:26] ... and inform you with the wrong information. And ultimately, as local, as, you know, representing local governments and as local governments look to adopt these types of technologies, we need to ensure that there's a human in the loop. [1:22:38] Yes. [1:22:38] A human approving that. [1:22:39] Mm-hmm. [1:22:39] A council agenda, draft minutes, you know, maybe a, uh, the drafting of an ordinance or a resolution. That's fine. AI can likely assist with that. It can likely do it in a very quick way, but it needs to be reviewed by somebody. If you're gonna have an outward- [1:22:54] Mm-hmm [1:22:54] ... facing policy that helps, you know, your public works people, that needs to ensure that it's been reviewed by somebody who's qualified and who's trained and knows what they're doing. So, um, we as an, as an association kinda look to partner to help cities do that. We work with a lot of groups across the state, like the Carl Vinson Institute, um, to provide trainings to cities. That's a core part of our message. I know you all see GMA as likely the advocacy team, the lobbyists here at the Capitol, but really our bread and butter is in our training and our education programs that we provide to city officials all across the state of Georgia. [1:23:25] And AI and technology in government is increasingly becoming a core, uh, core competency, I guess, that's taught. A- almost a 101 type class. Um, so that kinda concludes some of our testimony. I'm happy to answer any questions. Um, the, the study that Katrina, um, spoke to earlier, the GSU study, um, when that reaches its final form, it's kind of interim right now, I'm happy to share that with the committee to make sure you all have that. But with that, I appreciate the time today. I'll, I'll pause for any questions. [1:23:55] So with so many cities now that have, uh, started up... [1:24:04] In Georgia- [1:24:05] Yeah [1:24:05] ... we have a lot of new cities. So how many cities all total do we have in the state of Georgia? [1:24:09] Well, we have 536 cities. [1:24:13] So, uh, I know we were losing some cities too, who lost their, uh, charter. [1:24:20] I believe the last charter, um, was actually voluntarily relinquished was in 2024. [1:24:28] Mm-hmm. [1:24:29] I believe that's correct. And, and they had made the decision consciously that we're gonna relinquish the charter, we're gonna cede, um, cede those services back to the county operation. [1:24:37] Okay. [1:24:37] So. [1:24:38] Thank you. A- and we do have, uh, number six first. Okay. [1:24:44] Oh. I thought, um- [1:24:46] Senator- [1:24:46] The senator [1:24:46] ... Senator was first. [1:24:47] Senator Kemp was first. Okay. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and go. So- [1:24:50] Well [1:24:50] ... um, just kind of what you were saying towards the end there kind of underscores my concerns when we're using AI. I absolutely think it is an incredible tool. I mean, it's kinda what we used to see on all the sci- you know, I'm a big sci-fi fan. So, you know, you can tell a computer, "Do this thing for me," and it pops out everything that you need in fi- in a, in a second. That is the beauty of AI because it can pull information, gather it for you, give you this perfect product at the end of it. [1:25:21] But I make the analogy of baking a cake. You bake a cake, cake can look good on the inside, but if you got bad ingredients- [1:25:31] Yeah [1:25:31] ... bad egg- [1:25:32] Yeah [1:25:33] ... bad milk, it looks beautiful on the outside, but the inside can make you sick. [1:25:41] Mm. [1:25:41] And that's kinda how I view AI, and it's kinda what I was alluding to earlier. And I like that you're saying verify, verify, verify. [1:25:51] Yeah. [1:25:51] Because honestly, as we, as more studies are done, um, what, uh, those who study, uh, this technology and know more about AI is there are some cracks here. It's actually pulling from infor- it can pull from bad information, but your chat boxes and your ChatGPTs are also what they're finding not being accountable for being built correctly. [1:26:22] Yeah. [1:26:23] And I think some of you may know that if you know anything. So this is always my concern. Yes, should always have the human touch, the human verification. I don't care what it's spitting out. I mean, uh, ChatGPT is pulling from like Reddit. [1:26:42] Yeah, yeah. [1:26:42] Okay? And Wikipedia. And so when it's not pulling from actual real confirmed data, and it's just a bunch of pe- people out there talking, that's a concern. [1:26:52] Yeah. [1:26:54] I think absolutely cities, smaller cities, especially if they're understaffed can find some use in it, but I think this also really brings sort of forefront of why we have to have regulation at the state level. [1:27:07] Mm-hmm. [1:27:09] And nationally we would love it, but we see the conversation that's happening nationally- [1:27:12] Yeah [1:27:12] ... about it. But I think we have some opportunities here in Georgia to address it in a way that maybe other states are not doing it. [1:27:20] Yeah. [1:27:20] So my ask of you guys is to continue to, yes, we wanna use AI, but continue to work with cities on the training of humans- [1:27:30] Yeah [1:27:31] ... to use AI properly. [1:27:33] Yeah. [1:27:34] What people also don't understand about AI is it leaves its own signature. No one can see it. [1:27:40] Yeah. Yeah, the wa- digital watermark. [1:27:42] It's a digital- [1:27:42] Yeah, yeah [1:27:42] ... watermark that the human eye cannot absolutely see. [1:27:46] Yeah. [1:27:46] You know this, using, you know. [1:27:48] Yeah, yeah. [1:27:48] Many people don't know that. So I think a lot of training, and, and this is what I would encourage, a lot of training on what it is, what it does, what it can't do, the limitations of what it do, and how it can deliver inaccuracies that a human needs to go back and identify and verify is that accurate. [1:28:09] Yeah. [1:28:09] So that's what I would ask is if, you know, as we're having these conversation and as you guys are advocating use in our municipalities, that- [1:28:18] Yeah [1:28:18] ... uh, we have some mechanisms for that. Thank you. [1:28:21] And one other interesting thing that I think y- your commentary brought to mind was, you know, GMA has been around for over 90 years now. So in 90 years we've, we've written a lot of publications, we've written a lot of kind of manuscripts about ef- effective and, and smart local government operation. Uh, how cities should run based upon statutes, based upon feedback. So, uh, and my legal team might laugh that I'm mentioning this, but you know, our, our legal team writes these long, long manuscripts and documents that oftentimes they're, they're perfect. [1:28:51] You put them down and you go, "This is great." If the right person gets this in their hands, they're gonna have everything that they need to make the right decision. But like with all kind of techni- technical documentations, maybe it doesn't get read by the right people. We have found internally that at GMA, putting those types of written documentations or written manuscripts into a tool for our members to access makes it extremely effective for them to get answers to their questions in real time. And, and we are able to use that as tools as employees. But again, and this is now speaking to the GMA appropriate policy use for AI, again, when, when you pull from AI and you're gonna provide an answer, you are providing that answer as an employee, right? [1:29:33] And, and it's on you to have trusted and to have verified that that's accurate, right? So that onus of the individual, you have to bear that as well. So that's something I wanted to mention as well, but you, you brought it up through your remarks. So. [1:29:45] And we have one last question by Senator Kemp. [1:29:50] Thank you, Madam Chairman, uh, Chairwoman. I have a, uh, just a question kind of like the opposite end of you said that, uh, cities are able to say that, that, you know, now can have staff or support that they normally wouldn't be able to afford. But on the opposite end, are you seeing any rifts occurring because of artificial intelligence? Like cities saying that because we now have this we can reduce one or two jobs. Like are you seeing any impact on that side of things yet? [1:30:16] That's a really good question. I, I would tell you that I have not heard of that in any case. [1:30:21] Mm. [1:30:21] I, you know, I do think it's important to couch everything we've talked about today by, by not ignoring the fact that l- government as a whole is often not a first adopter to technology. [1:30:33] Mm. Mm-hmm. [1:30:34] We undoubtedly have cities that are using AI But the degree to which they are using it, I don't think has progressed to the point to where we're considering the elimination of, of personnel. Now, I haven't ha- I haven't had those conversations with people. I haven't heard about that. [1:30:51] Mm. [1:30:51] But that's something that I'll keep in the back of my mind, and we can watch that moving forward. [1:30:54] Yeah, it'd be great, you know, as we move forward, I think that should be a question at some point that's asked in surveys- [1:31:00] Yeah [1:31:00] ... so that we can start to see, like, what the impact is it is on, like, workforce and things. [1:31:05] Absolutely. [1:31:05] I think that'd be helpful to know. Probably really early on right now, but eventually, I think that we may get to a point to where jobs are being reduced because- [1:31:13] Yeah [1:31:13] ... we now have technology that can do it in a matter of seconds. So. [1:31:16] Understood. [1:31:17] Great. Thank you. [1:31:18] Thank, thank you s- um, did you want to, uh, tell us anything else before we... [1:31:24] I think that's it. I appreciate the committee's time. [1:31:27] Okay, and you are going to share with us the report? [1:31:30] Absolutely. I can provide that directly to Diego. [1:31:33] Okay. [1:31:33] As soon as we have it, yeah. [1:31:33] Well, we thank you very much. [1:31:35] Awesome. Thank you all. [1:31:35] And we'll be in touch, and we hope you'll come to some of our other meetings. [1:31:40] Right, right down the street. Happy to. [1:31:41] Because everything... Yes, okay. Thank you. Thank you. Um, the next person is Keenan Rogers of ACCG. Keenan left us. Keenan left us and went to ACCG. They asked him back again. I tell you. I tell you. I think they're having trouble getting- Hit jump ship on us. [1:32:03] Nice to be back among friends. [1:32:05] Thank you. [1:32:05] I missed you guys. [1:32:06] Thank you. [1:32:07] Well, for those who don't know me, my name's Keenan Rogers. I'm now on the other side of the ropes. I am with ACCG. [1:32:13] Mm-hmm. [1:32:13] We represent all 159 counties. Madam Chair, thank you for having me today. [1:32:17] Mm-hmm. [1:32:18] I'm here today to discuss AI usage amongst the counties, and how we're governing it, what we're seeing, and where we're going with it. Really quickly, before I get into that, in lieu of the con- in relation to the conversation we just had, I spent a year away from you guys working for a cybersecurity firm. [1:32:33] Mm. [1:32:33] So I bring that year and a half of background to what I get to do here today at ACCG. [1:32:39] Mm-hmm. [1:32:40] And I can kind of show you guys some blind spots that people may not be aware of and what I learned there. [1:32:44] Mm-hmm. [1:32:45] But really quickly, like you said, Senator Merritt, AI is here to stay. This mountain is only growing. [1:32:51] Mm-hmm. [1:32:51] And the analogy that I use, your cake analogy was fantastic. The one that I use is this mountain is growing, and we're pushing a rock up the mountain. That, that rock is getting bigger and bigger. Our muscles are also getting stronger and stronger. Problem is, we're still behind the ball. [1:33:07] Yes. [1:33:07] So that's what we need to focus on here with this committee. I'm very excited that you guys asked me here today, and I wanna talk about where we're going with it right now. Primarily, the policies that we're working on with our members, and what's working, what we're seeing has effective dividends. So, like GMA just mentioned, that survey that we're working with Georgia State, um, has been exponential in shedding light on what counties and cities have been doing. That statistic that they mentioned, 61% of, of humans are already using AI, that's only the number that's been reported too. [1:33:41] People are using it without even knowing that they're using it. Now, Google, I think the first answer is AI generated. It's not even click-on. So that, that is a factor in, in, in decision-making for sure. And another number was that 9% of these, of these, uh, local municipalities and counties that have been surveyed, only 9% have an official policy. So that is one of our biggest concerns at ACCG, is arming our members to push this mountain, to push this rock up the hill. [1:34:12] So here's what we're seeing right now, and our main focus is liability protection. Because as you know, people are un- unknowingly entering in HIPAA information. They're entering in PPI to this AI agent that is then being used to train the model. Uh, people just are completely unaware of this. So we're trying to focus on working with our members to build policies to strengthen that and pr- prevent that. We're working with the Georgia Technology Authority and the National Association, um, National Association of Counties to push policies to our members to help them. [1:34:43] When they come to us, say, "Hey, what is this AI? What's Claude? What's Gemini? What, what's a hallucination? How do we, what do we do? How do we operate with this?" Here's what we found that's definitely worked. Georgia Tech- uh, Technology Authority, we love that they have a prior authorizations required for tools to be used, and they pre-vet all their tools. That policy has been exponential in keeping our members safe. Granted, these are still only for state agencies, but when they come to us, they come to us for help, and this is, this, we're the pass-through agency. [1:35:14] Um, so we're building pa- um, policies, and we're working with NACo exponentially. And here's what I wanna give you guys, because these have been elemental in what drives the protection for our members. Uh, NACo's AI Compass Toolkit, it has a strict approve and non-approve usage k- um, kit, uh, usage language in there that we highly recommend. Um, and every single policy that they write, the objective is understood before it's written down as to what the policy does. [1:35:46] And most importantly, it's future-proof. It has to be future-proof, uh, to the best of our knowledge at this moment. Data security and privacy, another big factor. That's 65% of the biggest concern that we've heard, uh, when it comes to AI. And these common policies from NACo have been, like I said, our number one push. Um, a governance committee. Having a group of subject matter experts that flesh everything out is highly recommended. Training before use and consistent training throughout. [1:36:19] As this technology grows, as this mountain gets bigger, constant training is needed and necessary. Approved tools list, approved vendors list, crucial. Um, human review of output. Like my good friends in GMA said, human review still has to be the case because you have s- I'll be searching and doing a query, and it'll say, "Oh, uh- The 87th president of the United States was X, Y, Z. And it was like, "Oh, I don't think, I don't think we got there yet." And then it's, "Oh, you're right, Keenan. [1:36:49] You're so, you're so strong and so brave and so right." It does that job of hyping you up and making sure that you just keep using this model. So you have to know your only as g- your car is only as good as the fuel you put into it. Prompt training is, if we wanna go more on a micro level, prompt training is crucial. Um, another one, vendor contracts that bar data from model training. That one is huge. I'm a big proponent of that because everything you type in goes right back into training that model, and there are sometimes, uh, whether you should enter in this data or not, people unbeknown, un- unbeknownst to them, enter in data like the PPI that should not be in the model, and having that aspect in the contract is another guardrail that can protect you guys. [1:37:35] So I really like that aspect. Um, really like that vendor contracts not allowing county data to be used to train the models. So those are some of the policies that we found that worked. I do wanna shift, shift gears over to, um, water authorities, primarily because counties fund water authorities, and right now water authorities are some of the lowest hanging fruit for cybersecurity attacks. We're talking it's $18 million, um, ransomware in Maryland. I mean, the, these attacks are exponentially costly to the local municipalities and counties. [1:38:09] And I say this because AI is being s- has been such a tool for these attacks. Phishing attacks every single day. I mean, the AI agent can just send thousands of phishing emails a day. Uh, these hackers just sit back and watch because 85% of these attacks are due to human error. So that's where training comes. That's where we've worked with CISA, the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, to implement four primary, um, tools to use, like, um, phishing training, cloud c- cloud data control, password strengthening, and not using hardwares to, to store critical information because, you know, somebody picks up a thumb drive, plugs it into your computer. [1:38:50] As you've seen in the movie, then Hackerman is now access to your back end. So I say that because I just wanted to shed light on that. The, not, not too many people are aware of this issue that's going on with, with water authorities, and we, the counties, are, are the ones who have to, to deal with the, the consequences for it. So again, training, training, training. [1:39:13] So that's CISA. Oh, CISA, one more thing they recommend. Yeah, strong password, no hard devices, cloud storage, and phishing training. The phishing training, ACCG, we train our, our members and our own staff monthly. Um, can't recommend that policy enough. Next, I wanna talk about NextGen 911, as you guys are familiar, um, and mainly just kinda how AI is used in that. Of course, there's a cost associated with this, going from the legacy model to the NextGen model, but what, what comes with that? Are we just getting up here and saying, "Hey, please buy us the Cadillac instead of the Honda Accord"? No, I don't think so. [1:39:44] Um, AI right now is being used when, when they call. It can translate and pick up what language, what dialect is necessary from the caller. It's also running through... Say there was a prior incident at the house. It's running through old body cam footage and says, "Hey, the mother's room is upstairs on the left." This real-time data is being sorted through by AI. And I think in 2029, the, the legacy system's gonna be, be outdated with the copper wires not being, um, not, not being, uh... [1:40:16] What's the word I'm looking for? They're not gonna update the copper wires anymore. They're not fixing them. That was the word I was looking for. So phased out. So yes, this is coming with a cost, and we know we're, we're constantly working with you guys at the General Assembly as it comes because that timeline is, is right around the corner. So we look forward to working with you guys on that, but I did just wanna shed some light as to the AI tools with NextGen 911. Last but not least, ACCG, um, we have our own chatbot actually. Um, it's called Ask ACCG. We've, we've gotten some incredible results from it as, as a tool for information. [1:40:51] That I do wanna stress that it's strictly that. We sandbox most of the material, and that's, that's crucial because having it go out and search the internet, when it comes back and f- fabricates and hallucinates information, that's where we run into some of the main problems. So we're s- ours isn't perfect. We're still, we're still building this bot. But it's, um, it's been well-received from our members. It tracks legislation. Anything that we put in on the back of it is public-facing information. But it is, it is really neat to see this technology work in real time. It is a fascinating tool, but sometimes it's like giving a 16-year-old the keys to the Lamborghini, and you just gotta teach them how to drive first before they get in the Lambo. [1:41:29] But, um, this tool has saved a lot of members a lot of time and effort, and staff included. So I just wanna leave you guys with that, um, the main point being the policy aspect of it. Those are the, those are the elements that we found that really work and really can make a difference as you guys draft legislation in this next session for it. 'Cause this mountain's getting bigger. The rock is getting... The boulder is getting bigger, but we are getting stronger. So with that, I will sit for any questions. [1:42:00] Hey, Keenan. Hey. Thank you, and good to see you again. [1:42:03] Likewise, Senator. [1:42:03] So I, I think I heard you correctly, but I was just trying to clarify. So ACCG and kinda what you're talking about and advocating for the counties is for the counties to kinda have their own hub, their own AI house, right? [1:42:18] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. [1:42:18] To where things are on your own cloud, so it's not getting corrupted, and correct me if I'm wrong, by anything that it's pulling from out there, but it's pulling from information that, I'm gonna just use my county. Gwinnett County has a AI, that is, AI system that it's using. It's only pulling from what Gwinnett County has verified and fed into their AI housing that the whole county is using. So I guess I'm talking about- We have AI that's for regular folks, and y'all can go out there and get all that bad information. [1:42:51] And then you have your AI house for your government, uh, your real things that needs to, to have security and firewalls, and that other AI can't hack into, which is what AI is doing, is hacking into things. So i- is, is that what we're talking about? And then, two, on the security end, what else is being done? Because we are finding out that AI, 'cause it's smart- [1:43:17] Mm-hmm [1:43:18] ... to an extent, it codes. [1:43:20] Mm-hmm. [1:43:20] So it's hacking- [1:43:21] Mm [1:43:21] ... into people's systems like your water- [1:43:24] Mm-hmm [1:43:24] ... and things like that. So what is being done for those type of interventions as well? [1:43:29] So great point, Senator. Um, I do wanna stress, uh, again, we have... So our 159 counties, some of them have the funding and the tools to build these sandbox- [1:43:38] Mm-hmm [1:43:38] ... what we call them, the sandbox- [1:43:40] Sandbox, okay [1:43:40] ... AI agents, uh, on the back end. Um, some of them don't. [1:43:45] Okay. [1:43:45] So that is still a very open, and that is still a very real concern. Um, it, the metropol- metro Atlanta metropolitan counties have more funding for it, rurals, rural counties don't. And that where, that's where the training comes in, to be able to teach them, "Hey, you guys need to sandbox all your materials." And even then, sandbox, uh, some of, sometimes information still leaks out. Um, that is where we're trying to basically learn how to fight in the middle of a war, essentially. Um, and that's just how fast this technology is, is changing on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis. [1:44:19] Um, we're behind the ball on a trillion-dollar industry. So we are trying to stress the sandboxing as much as possible, but to your second question, w- how do we get their training? We have to- [1:44:31] Yeah [1:44:31] ... implement stronger training to be able to inform the employees that, "Hey, you can't just pull up ChatGPT on your phone, take a photo of this document and say, 'Read it to me.'" Well, congratulations, you just gave out eight Social Security numbers. So and then that, now that information is being used to train the model. So I'd say training is the most important, um, angle that we can do to prevent that. [1:44:52] Follow-up question- [1:44:53] Yes, ma'am [1:44:53] ... Chairwoman. [1:44:54] Yes, please. [1:44:54] So would it be that, I guess if we're asking for policy changes and state regulation changes, something that we mandate with our counties, like you must have this sandbox, and then, two, not just give them an unfunded mandate, but actually help them with the money. Like, "Hey, we're gonna need you to train your, your people, and we're also gonna need you to make a sandbox, and we're gonna have to a- we will a- allocate money to our smaller counties that can't afford it for you to be, for you to do it so we can make sure Georgia's 159 county state infrastructure is secure." [1:45:28] Yes, ma'am. That's all we ask. Any just- [1:45:30] Got it [1:45:30] ... uh, costs are increasing exponentially, and we're just trying to be good stewards- ... of the county property taxpayer dollars. So that would be- [1:45:36] You know you're gonna need- [1:45:37] ... for a few years [1:45:37] ... a fiscal on that for us, right? [1:45:38] Yes, ma'am. [1:45:39] Do you have a figure in your head? [1:45:40] Uh, not right now, but I- [1:45:42] Okay [1:45:42] ... I'll get one for you. [1:45:43] Okay. [1:45:43] But it, it, it's- [1:45:44] Come back to us [1:45:44] ... it'll have a few zeros on it. [1:45:46] Got it. Thank you. [1:45:48] Oh, uh, maybe you'll be in the budget or something to, to, uh, implement some programs, 'cause we need to train our counties- [1:45:58] Yes, ma'am [1:45:59] ... uh, w- who have to work in conjunction with us. [1:46:02] Yes, ma'am. [1:46:03] And do you already have any, uh, summits, uh, that focus only on AI? [1:46:12] On the ACCG end- [1:46:13] Mm-hmm [1:46:13] ... or? [1:46:13] On your end, yes. [1:46:14] Oh, yeah, so I actually run a subcommittee on technology and innovation, and we have some incredibly brilliant commissioners that are a, a part of this- [1:46:21] Mm-hmm [1:46:21] ... that we come, we come together, and we're talking about what's going on in the county and the local level, and then that's where I get to come be the mouthpiece for that. [1:46:30] Mm-hmm. [1:46:30] So we have, uh, um, commissioners from all over the state come together that, um, have, uh, that are actual doctorates in their field. [1:46:38] Okay. [1:46:38] Um- [1:46:39] Very good [1:46:39] ... so that's, that's what we've been, we've been using. [1:46:42] Okay. Well, uh, so but you, it's more like a policy, right? [1:46:47] So that's the, the committee. We haven't actually had kind of like an AI summit, but whenever we get together, of course, that is one of the hottest topics that we all discuss. [1:46:54] Okay. Thank you. [1:46:56] Thank you, guys. [1:46:56] Thank you very much, and, uh, we'll be in touch. Stay in touch. [1:47:00] Yeah. Good to see you guys. [1:47:02] We have, uh, one, two, three, four more speakers. The n- uh, next speaker we'd like to call is Cameron Fash. And we're so happy to see you. [1:47:14] Happy to see you. [1:47:15] Thank you. You've been here patiently sitting and waiting for us, so we appreciate it, all of you. [1:47:22] We are happy to be here. I am Cameron Fash. I'm the director of government relations for the Georgia Technology Authority. [1:47:27] Mm-hmm. [1:47:27] I'm joined by my colleague, Nikhil Deshpande, who's the state, uh, AI officer, chief AI officer. [1:47:33] Oh, okay. [1:47:33] And so- [1:47:35] Thank you [1:47:36] ... um, thank you, uh, Madam Chair, for having us. So in addition to GTA setting the IT policy standard guidelines for the executive branch agencies, we have, as mentioned, broadband. We oversee the state's broadband deployment- [1:47:48] Yes. Okay [1:47:48] ... efforts and all the federal dollars that are going, that we're dispersing around the state. We oversee cybersecurity and also artificial intelligence. And so that is one of our top priorities now at our agency to make sure that we are, are using it effectively, uh, with ethical guidelines. Um, proper training has been mentioned. And so there's a lot that we are doing to help state agencies, um, and the constituents that, that you serve, uh, to better serve them. So I'm gonna turn it over to Nikhil just to kind of give a quick overview of, of what his team is doing, and then we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. [1:48:20] And say your name again so I can have it. [1:48:23] My name is Nikhil Deshpande. [1:48:25] I don't have- Some- We, we get your card. [1:48:30] Absolutely. [1:48:31] She been around me too long. [1:48:35] I'm with GTA. [1:48:35] Okay. And you are the AI... [1:48:38] I'm the chief AI officer- [1:48:39] Oh, very good [1:48:40] ... as of, uh, two y- three years ago. [1:48:43] Okay. [1:48:43] Um, so yeah, I mean, Madam Chair, I, um, am happy to talk about the AI program- [1:48:50] Okay [1:48:50] ... that we have put together. In 2023, GTA established AI program primarily for the right reasons that we all have been discussing about this AI, uh- [1:49:03] As a technology, uh, back then people used to call it a storm. [1:49:07] Okay. [1:49:07] Pretty soon, uh, we are all agreeing that it's more of a change in the climate. It's here to stay, and it, it is only gonna be changing and, you know, creating challenges for everyone. So how do we encounter that? How do we prepare for that? And really, that's kind of like where the state program, um, was based. We have three key components to the program. The first is governance. As Cameron mentioned, we are looking at this more around not so much of how quickly or how courageously we should be embracing AI. [1:49:47] This is more around how effectively and how responsibly should we be allowing AI into the state infrastructure. So the governance was the first piece of it. We did not wanna wait until we had, you know, our first incidents to write an AI policy. [1:50:04] Okay. [1:50:05] So back in twenty twenty-three, we wrote our first responsible AI policy, uh, as part of, like, the first effort of this program. Ever since twenty twenty-three, we have also been holding a summit because the first thing, um, as the previous gentleman mentioned, was training was really critical for everyone to first understand, like, what, what is happening, you know? People had heard AI in the previous context, where the technology was highly deterministic. [1:50:35] But since twenty twenty-two, we saw that AI was very much a probabilistic technology, where it was creating things that we had not seen before. Um, so we needed to make sure we got everyone together to be able to understand, first of all, what these changes were, and B, how do we get ready for them? Uh, part of the governance, we created an AI advisory council. Part of the council really is, uh, our key state agencies as a representation of the council members. [1:51:06] Uh, we also have partnered with some of the larger higher ed organizations- [1:51:12] Okay [1:51:12] ... such as Georgia Tech, such as University of Georg- uh, North Georgia, um, Georgia State. So we have, we have council members who advise us based on their expertise. As part of this, we also prioritize making sure that we created not only policies for technology but also for ethics. Uh, we partnered with the University of North Georgia. They have a fantastic, uh, Center for Ethical Leadership. [1:51:43] And collaborating with them, we wrote one of our, um, first ethics framework for how we should be understanding this technology in decision-making that five years from now we don't regret based on, you know, certain decisions. Like, what is that framework we should be thinking about? I mean, we took a lot of lessons from social media- [1:52:03] Okay [1:52:04] ... uh, back then. Wish we had asked some of those hard questions and created policies. Um, so really our governance, um, also, you know, the gentleman earlier mentioned about our tool vetting process. Uh, this was really where we requested any agency who wished to use an AI tool, uh, to first submit it for a GTA review. As part of that, we reviewed, first of all, the technology itself, where it originates from- [1:52:34] Okay [1:52:35] ... what it does as far as the data is concerned. Where does the data go? Uh, how many pieces of the technology really touches upon certain things that we need to be aware of? Um, and based on all of these, like the security posture of that technology, then we gave a certain agency a conditional approval only for a certain use case that they would be submitting that technology for. Uh, this was twenty twenty-three, 'twenty-four, uh, where AI was a standalone set of tools. [1:53:09] As we know now, any tools that we have been using as a legacy tool as part of an upgrade, we have started seeing AI functionality in it. [1:53:18] Mm. [1:53:18] So that has changed the conversation quite a bit, but the review process does not change. So as part of any of these tool sets, we are reviewing everything that we are using as part of the state infrastructure. Um, the second piece is it's not just enough to have a policy. We also have to make sure that we, we see that people are following it. Uh, very recently, we have s- partnered with a certain technology, uh, outfit that allows us to actually have visibility into how certain technology is being used. [1:53:54] So for example, if someone knowingly or unknowingly is putting in Social Security numbers or anything that would qualify as a personal identified information, um, it can be stopped at the device level before that information actually goes and, you know, adds to someone's database or goes into a model. Um, it is, it is really incredible to actually see, even after some of the training and communications, how many of our end users still are using a public model, such as, say, ChatGPT, for example, right? [1:54:35] Uh, as a state, we already have an enterprise offering to our employees, uh, for using, say, ChatGPT that is not the public model. It is an enterprise offering, which means that when we use it and when we upload certain documents to it, it does not, does not train the public ChatGPT as we all know, where we just go and use it. So that is a very protected environment that we can make sure that it is used in a, in a concise way. [1:55:05] Um, with governance, we also have, uh, an innovation lab at the GTA offices where we invite agencies to work on certain projects in our sandboxes. Again, this helps them not to use their environments where they could be testing out certain technology that could easily escape or, you know, hurt using access to that environment. So we have, again, these sandboxes where we do our best to make sure that these are controlled experiments, these are controlled tests and proving grounds, um, as part of this effort. [1:55:43] And GTA makes sure that any of these, um, projects or these pilots, proof of concepts are done, are approved, aligned with our, um, governance. So if there is something that, you know, a, a certain model or a certain, uh, use case that doesn't really align with the governance, we doesn't-- we don't let it go forward at all. Um, the third aspect of our program, last but not the least, is our overall literacy program. [1:56:15] Uh, we, right from day one, uh, in 2023, uh, we partnered with a nonprofit called InnovateUS, and they were the first one to create training specifically for public sector. Um, and ever since, we have been rolling out our training program to make sure we have a foundational training of just, uh, making people understand what AI is, then an intermediate training where we train specific roles and specific jobs. [1:56:47] Um, and then we have an advanced training where it is more of a conceptual and, and workshop-based training, where, for example, you know, we do workshops for ethics. Uh, so these are specifically for leaders, for, for certain s- you know, types of roles. And, you know, we, we make sure that we are, we are trying to create champions within every agency. So it's not just a central AI program that needs to be represented everywhere. You know, agencies should have these AI champions within who can bring that responsible AI filter in most of these conversations. [1:57:24] Um, so for the last two or three years, we have really have been focusing on making sure that we are keeping up with the standards and policies, but also in our implementation, we have a very responsible posture for AI. [1:57:38] I am very, uh, happy to hear- [1:57:41] Thank you [1:57:42] ... that you have that. Is, is your training available for legislators who can come sit in? [1:57:49] Absolutely. Our, our training, we have a lot of it online. We also have a trainer who conducts any Q&A based on-- And it's, it's all self, uh, driven training. But yeah, absolutely, we are happy to offer it. [1:58:03] That might be something that we all need to do because it is moving forward, and, uh, many people don't understand, uh, AI and the pros or the cons of it. You know, they just see one thing they like, and they wanna keep it and wanna see it grow. And then some people are wondering, "What do they mean it's gonna kill some people?" You know? I mean, since we, uh, had this, uh, meeting posted, we've had some real interesting people calling us and asking questions, questions that y- they would have said if they had come today, they could have listened to you and had a better understanding. [1:58:46] So thank you. And do we have any questions? Yes. Number six. Okay. [1:58:52] Thank you. Thank you for coming and explaining how secure the State of Georgia is. And we have our own ethics and checks and bal- you know, we're checking off everything. So my question is, is back to the security component because we know AI is hacking into the system. [1:59:06] Oh, yes. [1:59:07] Can you talk a little bit about how GTA is making sure that our Georgia, uh, technology infrastructure is not being breached, um, and kind of what we're doing there? [1:59:20] I will, I will do my best. Uh, actually, our s- our state CISO, uh, who is also part of the Georgia Technology Authority, might be the right person to answer this. But we have a very, um, strong partnership with our security team. Uh, our information security folks, we have two of them dedicated on the AI team as well. They are a crossover. So, um, we-- as part of any of our review, we make sure that they vet the security posture of it. [1:59:51] You know, we have certain standards that they make sure that this particular, um, technology meets that. Um, again, you know, we-- Like I said, when we check any tools, we, we look at, like, how data is handled, where, where these tools are based out of. Because, you know, again, we don't wanna assume, um, geographical locations, but we also wanna make sure that, you know, anything that is not hosted within the continental US, like what are we using it for, and what is it, it's capable, uh, for. [2:00:26] Um, but the security team has a range of tools that we are either deployed in, on, on the servers or on individual devices that keep up with making sure what is happening. Uh, we have a very restricted, I would say, environment as far as what someone can do and someone cannot do. So from a security social engineering perspective, we are pretty heavily trained and also monitored to make sure individuals don't do things like inserting, you know, USBs or just clicking on things- [2:00:58] Mm-hmm [2:00:58] ... that they shouldn't be clicking. [2:01:00] Mm-hmm. [2:01:00] But from a regular vigilance perspective, we have a SOC, uh, a security operations center- [2:01:06] Mm-hmm [2:01:06] ... that, that they have a very, very keen, you know, kinda eye on all the technology and all the servers that are running to make sure that they are secure. Um, you know, like I said You know, our, our CISO can actually give you... And I'm, I'm happy to maybe we can facilitate that to kinda answer your question in a lot more depth for, like, how they would wanna answer that. But from an AI perspective, we have, we have them as our constant partner to make sure that we are not just looking at how AI can innovate and make things better for agencies, but also we bring that security posture along with us to make sure that these are the right tools. [2:01:48] Thank you. Any other questions? No. Well, we have no other questions, but, uh, you have brought us a lot of information, and I have- I'm thirsting for even more. So I, um, I would like to see if some of our committee members would have a conversation with both of you, maybe not in an official meeting like this, but, um, very soon. [2:02:18] Right. [2:02:18] Okay, 'cause we, we have to, in December, we have to, uh, put our findings together and file them for the 27th. So some of the things, we don't, we might not have to create the wheel if all the things that you're already doing, um, might be something that we can help all of us in the State of Georgia, and especially in Georgia government, and not just in your agency. [2:02:43] Absolutely. And our, our commissioner has always asked me to create any of these resources with the intention that it should reach beyond just the agencies that we're creating it for. [2:02:52] Okay, excellent. Okay, we have any other questions? No questions. I appreciate you- [2:02:59] Matt. [2:02:59] Yes. Oh, yes. [2:03:00] So our offices are located in the building next door, right outside this corridor. And so we also have the Horizons Innovation Lab, so we'd love to have y'all over sometime. [2:03:07] Okay, Kim, we- [2:03:09] So- [2:03:09] Let's- [2:03:09] We'll get that arranged. But talking about, uh, there was a- talking about a summit before. [2:03:14] Mm-hmm. [2:03:14] Um, GTA is hosting an emerging technology and AI summit on November 12th, and it is open not only to state agencies, but also to local governments. [2:03:23] Okay. [2:03:23] So if any of your- [2:03:24] State agencies do, um, do we have an invitation to that already? [2:03:28] Uh, it's on the website. [2:03:29] Can we, can we, can we get an- [2:03:30] I can- [2:03:30] We'll share that- [2:03:31] Huh? [2:03:31] We'll share that with the committee. [2:03:31] We can share it. [2:03:32] Yeah. [2:03:33] Yes. [2:03:33] Okay. We would like to, uh, make sure we make that available- [2:03:37] Absolutely [2:03:37] ... to our members. [2:03:38] Great. [2:03:39] And, uh, I know for me, I wanna come. Uh, and are we out of town November, what? [2:03:45] 12th. [2:03:45] 12th. I think so. Are we? [2:03:47] No. No, we're in town. [2:03:48] We're not? [2:03:49] Nope. [2:03:49] Oh, good. Thought you had a special meeting. Uh, well, thank you very much. We do, uh, and, uh, you saw my, our, uh, committee advisor, uh, A- Anderson is, Professor Anderson back there. Uh, he might want to get your card, if it's okay, and call for specific questions. [2:04:13] Absolutely. [2:04:14] Thank you so much. [2:04:14] Thank you. [2:04:15] Okay. Um, the next person we have is, um, a person that has inspired all of us and kept us on our toes when it comes to, uh, not just the, what, the pros and cons of AI on the film industry, but on many other things. I'd like to know if once a senator, always a senator. And you were our senator over rules committee when some of, uh, the film industry and other entertainment and music things came up. [2:04:49] So you are the author of the legislation, and you let me sign on it and sit with you. So can you come up, Senator Mullis? And can I call you Senator Mullis? [2:05:00] Yes, ma'am. I am truly honored. [2:05:03] Thank you. [2:05:03] Thank you so much. [2:05:04] We're honored. [2:05:05] And would like to, uh, thank the distinguished members of your committee. And I've served with most of you. I didn't have the honor of serving with Senator Kemp, but I've watched him behind the scenes. He's an amazing legislator like y'all are. [2:05:17] Thank you. [2:05:17] So let, let me commend you on this topic. [2:05:20] Thank you. [2:05:20] I'm glad that somebody's looking into it, 'cause I, I'd have no idea to do this, or not many people. So this is truly forward-thinking that is involved in our life more than we know. [2:05:32] Mm-hmm. [2:05:32] So thank you for doing that. [2:05:34] Thank you. [2:05:34] And I, I appreciate your service, too. [2:05:37] Thank you. [2:05:37] I, I was in the Senate from 2001 through 2023, and I enjoyed every minute of it, even the bad times. You know? 'Cause it's all about people. It's all about relationships. And I- [2:05:49] It was never bad times with you. [2:05:51] Well, I, look, I didn't take what I, I didn't take myself seriously, but what I did, I, I took seriously. [2:05:58] Thank you. [2:05:58] And I enjoyed helping people. And if you got a bill to the s- the Senate rules, I try to put it on the floor. [2:06:05] That's right. [2:06:05] And, uh, that's the way it should be. The floor belongs to nobody and everybody, you know? So. [2:06:11] Very good. [2:06:13] But thank you so much for what you're doing. [2:06:14] Do you have any, any, uh, thing that you wanna say on this issue, especially on protecting the creatives? [2:06:21] Oh, yeah. [2:06:21] Because I know you- [2:06:22] No, I, look, I think what you're doing is i- important, and I'm glad somebody's doing it. I haven't heard of anybody else except your committee doing this. [2:06:30] Yeah. [2:06:30] And it is probably, uh, uh, good that you are, and probably late in the game than anybody did anything, 'cause- ... this is gonna control our lives. [2:06:39] Oh, yes. [2:06:40] And I hope that, uh, you i- investigate all the aspects to it to make sure that you've, you know, know what's going on, and that you prese- uh, provide legislation if there's needed. [2:06:51] Yes. [2:06:51] And I'm sure it is. [2:06:52] Yes. I- [2:06:53] But- [2:06:53] We already have two. Yeah, a matter of fact, if you- [2:06:56] In fact, I'd like to sign on to it with you. [2:06:58] So, yes. Um, I do recall you, Senator, being in the room when I pitched my AI, um, surveilla- discri- discrimination bill. I think- [2:07:08] Oh, sure. We probably- [2:07:08] I think you were the only one in the room that got what I was saying. [2:07:11] Yeah, but I'm sure what none of us knew exactly what we needed to do. [2:07:13] But you were like, "Oh." I think what your comment was, "Wow, that's a really, that's really great. I hope somebody supports you in it." So I think you kinda understood- [2:07:21] Okay. Sure [2:07:21] ... where we were going with this, but that was 2025. It was still pe- new in people's head, but, um, I think at the time you did kinda understand where we were going. [2:07:31] Well, thank you. I'm glad you're do- here today- ... working on that issue. [2:07:35] But we, we do plan to come up in December with, uh- Recommendations- [2:07:42] Oh, sure [2:07:42] ... for, for, uh, next. And we wish, we, we wanna recommend that you come back- [2:07:47] Well, look [2:07:47] ... and be our root [2:07:49] Oh, well, you're very kind. I, I... You know, people say, "Do you miss it?" And I go, "Well, I'm here." However, I did miss working it. I enjoyed the system even though most people don't like it, 'cause you gotta learn how to work it and manipulate it from there. [2:08:04] That's true. [2:08:04] And, uh, you know, I just got tired of representing a lot of crazy people. And I don't care if they know that, 'cause they know who they are. But, uh- [2:08:13] And you did even more. [2:08:14] Well- [2:08:14] Thank you for the gym that we have over here, the physical fitness building. [2:08:19] Yeah. Yeah, I don't look like- [2:08:20] The m- [2:08:20] ... somebody a, a wellness center should be named after. But- ... I made sure it was in the budget, because that should've been done years and years- [2:08:29] Years and years [2:08:29] ... and years ago. [2:08:30] Like it is in many- [2:08:31] Just to make everybody better, healthier in, uh, in the capital and the buildings around it. But... [2:08:38] Especially with my, uh, n- double knee replacement that is still not well. Now going o- [2:08:44] Well you- [2:08:44] I can go over here and exercise so I can s- [2:08:46] You ought to be a bionic woman with all the knee stuff you got. [2:08:49] I am. With all the metal in me. [2:08:51] I know. Well, look, thank you so much for- [2:08:54] Okay [2:08:54] ... having me come up here, and thank you for what you're doing. And if I can ever be of service to you, please let me know. [2:08:59] Thank you very- [2:08:59] We're just a phone call away. [2:09:01] Thank you very much. [2:09:02] Give me a, give me a call a little later, okay? [2:09:03] I will. Thank you so much. [2:09:05] Y'all have a good day. Thank you again. [2:09:05] Thank you, Senator. Thank you. Thank you. And our next speaker is... She took the paper. Oh, Gracie Beasley. And after that, we'll hear from Nan Ross and Pierre Deni- Denise. D- is that correct? Is he here? Oh. He c- Cl- another close but no cigar, huh? [2:09:35] Okay. All right. We, we do want to hear from you. Hi, how you doing, Ms. Beasley? Thank you for being here today. [2:09:43] Thank y'all for having me. Oh, can you hear me? Is it... Okay. Um, yeah, my name is Gracie Beasley. I, um, am the senior manager of government affairs and policy for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Okay, here we go. Um, so I've come today to join and just kind of give an overview of GDEC, what we do over there, and also just kind of have a little brief discussion on, um, artificial intelligence and workforce, and how those, um, kind of connect back to what the state is doing. [2:10:15] Um, so starting out kind of, uh, who we are, and as many of you may know, but, um, we have six different sectors. We do global commerce, trade, film, arts, tourism, um, and we have our centers of innovation. Um, and so basically we are the sales and marketing arm of the state of Georgia. So everything that we do is promoting Georgia, either domestically or internationally. So whether it's attracting new businesses to come into Georgia, expanding business within Georgia, um, connecting small, medium, large-sized businesses that are Georgia-based to external markets for trade, or, um, even, you know, through soft skills, connecting, um, our lo- local arts organizations throughout the entire state with arts grants. [2:10:59] Um, we kind of do something that, you know, touches each area of the state and supports the state, um, and promotes our state. Um, so just in that, let's see. Okay, so just a little bit of our overview of global commerce. So our global commerce team is our team that's responsible for bringing new business into Georgia or expanding businesses that are within Georgia, and these are kind of just our highlights, um, from this fiscal year. Um, and you know, everything that they do is through the lens of job creation, so everything that they do is trying to bring jobs to communities in Georgia. [2:11:30] And I think they've been really successful at that, as y'all can see by the numbers. Um, and then these are our highlights for trade. And our trade team actually, so like I said, they represent- [2:11:43] Is that our, kind of, ports? [2:11:46] Th- that's a p- a picture from the port, yeah. Most of the, you know, trade coming through the ports. But so our trade team, actually, they are responsible for connecting either small, medium, or large-sized businesses, but usually it's small and medium-sized businesses within Georgia- [2:11:59] Mm-hmm [2:11:59] ... to external markets. So they, um... We have literally, I think it's 13, we just added the 13th country that we actually have offices in that are marketing our state and our businesses here and connecting them to trade markets over there. Um, so they do a lot of really great things. The numbers are increasing every year as far as how successful they've been at, you know, promoting, um, trade with Georgia companies. So we're really proud of our trade team. Um, I'll kind of just leave that slide up. [2:12:30] But, you know, that's just kind of a little bit of an overview of some of the things that we do. Um, and with that, I was gonna kind of give a little bit of a breakdown of, you know, artificial intelligence and workforce development, um, 'cause that's kind of where it connects to us the most. Um, so, you know, we have seen, and I'm gonna kind of read through my talking points here. But, um, we have seen with the, you know, increase of artificial intelligence, we've seen higher investment coming into the state and companies requiring more highly skilled jobs. [2:13:05] So AI and automation are making manufacturing projects more capital intensive and more skilled. In FY26, Georgia saw 35.2 billion in investment and an estimated 25,300 new jobs compared with 38,400 jobs and 24 billion in investment in FY23. That shift reflects higher investment in automated manufacturing, technology infrastructure in large industrial facilities with projects like Siemens' new Jackson County plant from a leader in automation and industrial software, as an example. [2:13:36] Um, and then, you know, how our state is kind of Making up the difference in preparing our workforce for these changes is, you know, we have our QuickStart program that's housed under TCSG, um, and is an incentive for us. Um, and so QuickStart has been preparing for this shift for decades. QuickStart is a program that provides customized workforce training as an incentive for companies investing in creating jobs in Georgia, and it's Georgia's customized training program, which dates back to 1967. So it's kinda helped us stay ahead of the curve. [2:14:07] It's one of the most competitive programs, um, in the country, and it's, it's a great incentive for Georgia. But it's, it's kind of ahead of everything as far as, um, equipping the workforce for all of these technological advancements that have been coming. So QuickStart has its advanced manufacturing training facility, um, in Pooler, Georgia, which trains workers from mechatronics, control systems, automation and robotics, sensors, and networked wireless systems. So new hires arrive ready for a smart factory floor. [2:14:37] Um, and then another initiative that I kinda wanted to touch on, too, is the High Demand Career initiative, um, that keeps USG and TCSG aligned with what employers actually need. Um, so this program was created so that TCSG and USG could hear directly from the private sector about the degrees, certificates, courses, and skillsets that they need. Um, and that was through House Bill 982 that built on that in 2024 by establishing the high-demand career list and Georgia's first unified tool for identifying top occupations by job growth, wages, and training needs. [2:15:10] So it's been a great resource for us as far as- [2:15:13] What bill was it? [2:15:13] Um, 982. [2:15:15] In, in '24? [2:15:16] Yes, 2024. Um, and so that's just a little bit of a breakdown on kind of things that our state has been doing to kind of keep up with this technological advancement that's coming in. Um, and you know, I will say, too, I wanted to touch on, because our state has been so good at kind of getting ahead of these things, that we are a major source of global attraction. Um, so global companies are bringing advanced operations to Georgia. Um, jobs and investment from international companies more than doubled in FY26 over FY25, with more than 9,350 new jobs in Korea, Italy, Belgium, Canada, and France as the top sources. [2:15:54] Um, so the knowledge economy jobs are growing alongside manufacturing. Headquarters, software technology, and support service locations are projected to create more than 3,790 new jobs combined over the next several years. So I know that was a lot of information really quickly. [2:16:12] I'm good. [2:16:12] But, um- [2:16:13] I'm on, I'm on that, uh, Senate, uh, Economic Development committee. [2:16:18] Yeah. [2:16:18] And I make sure that whenever you have workshops or your, uh, annual event in Savannah or whatever- [2:16:25] Mm-hmm [2:16:26] ... that, that I come. [2:16:27] Good. Good. [2:16:28] And I learn so much. We want, we want everybody to learn from what you're saying. Before you finish, I wanna know if we can get a, a copy of that- [2:16:38] Yeah [2:16:38] ... either sent to us through the electronic way- [2:16:40] Definitely [2:16:40] ... or it's even better to just put it on paper. [2:16:44] Okay. Yeah. [2:16:45] And then that way we can do whichever one we want. Some people are old school. [2:16:50] Yeah, definitely. And if y'all have any other questions for me, um, let me know, and I can send all the information over. [2:16:56] Okay. Um, do we have any questions? No, Senator? [2:17:01] Just a quick question. [2:17:02] Yes. [2:17:02] Now we have a... I'm sorry. [2:17:04] It's okay. [2:17:04] Um, so we have 13 trade offices. One or two w- we opened last year or so, a couple of years? Or no, this is always has been, we had 13 trade offices. [2:17:13] So- [2:17:13] I's just wondering. I thought it was 11. [2:17:15] I wanna be careful not to say anything that I'm not 100% sure about. [2:17:19] No, that's okay. No, that's, that's fine. [2:17:20] But, well, I do know one, like, one we just opened. Um, but we have been... We had representation in the country that just opened a trade office, but now we actually have somebody on the ground in that country. 'Cause that's something, too, is some of our representatives, our offices in these different countries, they might be located in one country, but some of them represent the whole region. Um, so we've gotten some more within regions we already had represented, if that makes sense. [2:17:42] Which country is the new one? It was- [2:17:43] I think it's Argentina. [2:17:44] Anyway, that's fine. I'm not sure. [2:17:46] No, I don't wanna- [2:17:46] 'Cause I was thinking like 11, 12, just to say click my number this, you had a little bit more than- [2:17:50] Yeah. No, that's- [2:17:51] ... what I knew [2:17:52] ... we were literally talking about this yesterday, and they were telling me that we had the new, so. [2:17:55] No, that's good. That's good. [2:17:55] That's why I didn't want to be too... [2:17:57] More is better anyway because, you know. [2:17:58] He does need seven. Yeah. If I can get the answer for you, definitely. [2:18:00] No problem. No problem. Thank you. I know with some of the southern state, North Carolina, some of the neighboring state, they're competing with us, too- [2:18:06] Right [2:18:06] ... internationally trying to get the business, you know. [2:18:08] Right. [2:18:08] And we wanna make sure we are ahead of the curve and, uh, we continue to be the number one state- [2:18:13] Yep [2:18:13] ... to do business, you know. [2:18:14] Definitely. [2:18:15] And thank you for what you do. [2:18:16] Thank you for having me. [2:18:17] Yes, thank you very much. And, uh, have you had your conference this year already? [2:18:23] So are you talking about- [2:18:24] The annual meeting that you had. [2:18:26] Are you referring to the logistics summit maybe, or- [2:18:28] It's the whole economic development meeting. [2:18:33] Okay. [2:18:33] And we go all the time, and it's for a couple of days. [2:18:38] Isn't she talking about the- [2:18:39] We had our- [2:18:40] Maybe talking about the, uh, the governor tourism- [2:18:43] Yes [2:18:43] ... Oh, listen, we just had the governor's tourism conference actually in Jekyll. Yeah. [2:18:46] Oh, you had it. I don't remember. [2:18:47] That's why I was wondering. Um- [2:18:48] Well, where was I? [2:18:50] I was like they should share the information with you. [2:18:52] No. It must've been... Oh. [2:18:53] We had that actually in Jekyll this year, so it was a little more up. [2:18:55] I, I would, I would like to, uh, get a update of- [2:18:58] Okay. Yep [2:18:58] ... what happened there. [2:18:59] Definitely. [2:19:00] I, uh, uh, that was, my, my mother was in a crash. [2:19:06] Oh, no. [2:19:06] And my sister. [2:19:07] Oh, no. [2:19:08] And that was w- uh, she just told me it was on my schedule, except it happened during that time. [2:19:13] I'm so sorry. [2:19:14] And she went to heaven. [2:19:15] Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. [2:19:17] Yeah. But anyway, that was a few w- it's just been, what? [2:19:20] The last two weeks. [2:19:20] Six weeks, four weeks. Four weeks or something. [2:19:23] Yeah. Yeah. [2:19:25] Yeah. So thank you. Thank you very much. [2:19:27] Thank y'all for having me. [2:19:27] And I appreciate it. And, uh- [2:19:31] Of course. [2:19:31] I'm m- I'm so happy we had this today and all of you have come, because I thought we had nothing in place. So we are having quite a few, uh- Of our, uh, departments of government who are moving forward. So let's share it with all of us and, and work together. Thank you. Oh, and our next person is Ms. Nan Ross, AI advocate for Georgia Senior Citizens. [2:20:01] Thank you for coming. [2:20:03] Thank you for having me- [2:20:04] Yes [2:20:04] ... Chairwoman and the committee. [2:20:06] Mm-hmm. [2:20:06] So yes, I am Nan Ross. I am a AI literacy, um, trainer- [2:20:14] Okay [2:20:14] ... and a certified AI consultant. But I actually founded a nonprofit organization called Rewrite and Rise. So we offer free AI literacy education for the community. [2:20:28] Well, I want to rewrite my mind, so you tell me tell us more about it. [2:20:33] So yeah, so with the education we partnered with Fulton County, uh, Library System. [2:20:39] Mm-hmm. [2:20:40] And we hosted three four-part workshop series. [2:20:45] Mm-hmm. [2:20:45] AI series. Um, [2:20:49] t- the locations were Fairburn, Wolf Creek, and Cascade. [2:20:56] All of them in my district and I did not know it. [2:21:01] Yes. [2:21:01] Wow. [2:21:01] So, um, and, and our biggest goal is to help not only seniors but career tr- tr- just transitioners, um, working professionals- [2:21:12] Mm-hmm [2:21:12] ... how to build that AI confidence and then be able to understand how to use it- [2:21:18] Mm-hmm [2:21:18] ... safely and responsibly. [2:21:20] Well, yes. [2:21:21] So my experience on these 12 classes, especially with the seniors, was really interesting because they were very interested in learning AI. Um, however, there were some comfort levels, um, as far as with technology. That was a little bit of a challenge. Uh, for example, some of the seniors may not have access to- [2:21:46] Can, can you pull your mic up a little closer? We're- [2:21:49] Sorry. Okay [2:21:49] ... streaming and we want to make sure that- [2:21:52] Is that better? [2:21:52] Yes. That's better. [2:21:54] Okay. [2:21:54] Is that better? We want to make sure that, uh, everything you're saying i- will be recorded. [2:22:00] Okay. Thank you. [2:22:00] And, and people are listening to us. [2:22:03] Okay. [2:22:03] Okay. [2:22:05] So, um, some of the, um, uh, the seniors did not have access to like a laptop during training. [2:22:13] Okay. [2:22:13] But the library actually provided- [2:22:15] Yeah [2:22:16] ... um, some laptops. There were some challenges. Some of the seniors didn't know how to use the track pad. [2:22:23] Oh, yeah. [2:22:23] But they were really, they were l- willing to learn, and because it was about AI- [2:22:30] Mm-hmm [2:22:30] ... they were so engaged. They came back for all four parts- ... and even followed me to the other libraries. But they did have concerns, and some of those concerns were about scam, fraud. [2:22:47] Yes. [2:22:49] Um, and then when they put in their information they wanted to know like what happens to the information. Where does it go? Who's looking at it? [2:22:59] Mm-hmm. [2:23:00] Um, so in the workshop we talk about privacy, we talk about, um, avoiding putting sensitive information into AI. [2:23:08] Mm-hmm. [2:23:08] Even though there's a setting in some of these tools, if you deactivate, uh, your information will not be used to train the model, but I believe anything you put on the web someone can have access to it, especially- ... it's a public, um, um, language model. [2:23:28] Wow. [2:23:29] Um, but as far as they, the information, um, the bias, um, some of their children, um, was facing some issues with, you know, job displacement, um, environmental issues and concerns that they have. So it's... We were o- [2:23:48] Environmental issues? Will you expound on that? [2:23:51] Well, more of the, you know, the, with the water. [2:23:55] Mm. Okay. [2:23:55] Um, I, I don't have really hard data to back that up, but I'm there to actually- [2:24:01] Data centers and things like that [2:24:01] ... yeah, I'm there to, to, to- [2:24:02] Everybody [2:24:03] ... hear their concerns. [2:24:04] Okay. [2:24:04] Because if they feel supported, then they will be more open to- [2:24:10] Yeah [2:24:10] ... um, explore what AI tools can actually do for them. [2:24:14] Okay. [2:24:14] So, but overall it's been a really great experience and, um, and I look forward to, you know- [2:24:22] Let me know [2:24:23] ... more, more workshops maybe in Cobb County. [2:24:27] She said Gwinnett, and, and we say South Fulton, right? [2:24:31] Yeah. So yeah, there's a, a couple other libraries in South Fulton. [2:24:34] Mm-hmm. [2:24:35] But, um... [2:24:36] So, so how do we get to, uh, get y'all to come to our areas, specific areas? [2:24:44] Um, w- just let me know. [2:24:46] Okay. [2:24:46] Just let me know, and I'm willing to travel, especially the rest of South Fulton. [2:24:51] Mm-hmm. [2:24:51] There are a couple o- i- libraries. I did 12 classes, and I just want to take like a month or two break. [2:24:58] You did 12? [2:25:00] Yes. 12 classes. [2:25:01] And how many... Well, they were one in each place you went to? [2:25:04] So it's four parts. [2:25:06] Okay. [2:25:06] And it was Fairburn, um, Branch was the first one. Um- [2:25:11] Hmm [2:25:11] ... and the second one was Wolf Creek, and then Cascade. [2:25:14] Yes, they're my neighborhood. [2:25:15] And then they invited me to come back for the fall, so. [2:25:18] So did you come over there with the mayor of, um, the city of South Fulton? [2:25:24] No. I just walked into the library. And I realized on the event calendar they didn't have anything about teaching AI, and that was my concern, especially in my community. I didn't want anyone to be left behind- [2:25:38] Mm-hmm [2:25:39] ... because it was moving so fast. [2:25:41] Okay. I know that's the, the city council there- Wanted, wanted to have something on AI because, uh, that's how we invited the, um, the, uh, Georgia Association... m- um, Municipal Association. [2:25:58] Okay. [2:25:58] The first speakers that we had- [2:25:59] Mm-hmm [2:26:00] ... t- today because, uh, they were concerned about and I thought they said they had had some kind of workshop at that library. [2:26:09] Okay. Well, there were other AI consultants that was hosting, um, classes and workshops as well. [2:26:17] Mm-hmm. [2:26:17] But sp- specifically for me, you can't talk about AI in one... in, in a hour or two. [2:26:23] No, you can't. [2:26:24] So we broke it down to, you know, four parts, which we talked about the basic prompts- [2:26:28] Mm-hmm [2:26:28] ... using ChatGPT and Claude. [2:26:31] Mm-hmm. [2:26:31] But as well as using AI for as your personal assistant, for job search, even business and income opportunity. [2:26:39] Oh, yes. [2:26:40] And so even when the, the seniors, I'm sure they wasn't looking for a job- [2:26:44] Right [2:26:44] ... but they still came in support, and it, it's more of an engagement. [2:26:50] Oh, my. Okay. [2:26:50] They're very interested. [2:26:52] Okay. Anybody have any questions? [2:26:55] Mm-mm. [2:26:56] No? [2:26:57] No. Okay. [2:26:58] You- [2:26:58] Thank you for having me. [2:26:59] No, thank you for coming and sharing with us, and we'll be s- sticking in touch with you- [2:27:06] Okay. Thank you [2:27:07] ... completely, and if you want to, to send us something on your next classes, we'll, we'll, uh- [2:27:13] Okay. Thank you [2:27:13] ... look forward to, to, uh, supporting you. [2:27:15] Will do. [2:27:16] Okay. Thank you. [2:27:17] Mm-hmm. [2:27:17] Okay. And, uh, unless someone comes up and signs the list, we only have one more great speaker, and it's Pierre Denise, I think, who is a computer and technology business person. Thank you for coming. [2:27:41] Good morning. [2:27:42] Good morning. [2:27:42] Uh, good to be here, ma'am. [2:27:42] Mm-hmm. [2:27:43] Yes. All right. I- [2:27:45] We can still, we can still go to the restaurant and eat some breakfast though- ... before you leave. I'm just kidding. [2:27:51] I always take- [2:27:52] I'm joking [2:27:52] ... I, I take a lot of honor when you save the best for last. You know that, right? [2:27:57] Thank you. [2:27:58] Well, my name is Pierre Denise. I'm the CEO of Martech, uh, Systems. Uh, we're located in North Georgia, um, and, um, and, you know, I've had, I've had both of my knees replaced, so I- [2:28:14] You know. [2:28:16] I understand. We've, um, we've, we've kinda dove into... I'm going to reference to, uh, what, uh, Calvin Anderson was speaking of. [2:28:28] Oh, yeah. [2:28:29] And one of those things that he spoke of are, are senior citizens. [2:28:33] Yeah. [2:28:35] Um, with, with over 4,000, uh, customers here in the state- [2:28:41] Uh-huh [2:28:42] ... w- we find ourselves at about a 68 to 70% of them are senior citizens. And what I've found- [2:28:50] That many? [2:28:51] That many. And what I've found is that it takes a required patience- [2:28:59] Mm-hmm [2:29:00] ... to sit and to teach them these new technologies. [2:29:06] Mm-hmm. [2:29:06] One of the things that I would, um, urge, uh, everyone to start to look at is some kind of way to, um, uh, find legislative, uh, monies or efforts that will allow companies like myself that can en- engage, because it takes, it takes certain senior citizens a lot of trust, first of all, to not only allow you into their house- [2:29:37] Mm-hmm [2:29:37] ... but then to start teaching them something that they're not really sure they wanna learn, and their life depends on it. [2:29:47] Mm. [2:29:48] So that would be something that's very... And I, and I understand what you said at the beginning. This is a part of a four-part series. [2:29:56] Correct. [2:29:56] So as I know everybody's getting hungry, I'm, I'm not gonna go crazy here, okay? I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna keep your interest alive. In addition to what I just mentioned, because I think that's very, I think that's very important, we gotta look at our seniors because a lot of times they get written off and n- nobody's there to help them. But in addition, um, we have gone ahead and we have, uh, married up as a premier partner with Motorola Solutions, and Motorola Solutions has given us the hardware mechanisms and the right to whereby now what we're doing is we have meetings set up with Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, all of the HBCUs. [2:30:54] Yes. Yes. [2:30:55] And what we're providing through around-the-corner camera-looking operative and camera systems that can detect weaponry is to do- detect far before a person of interest approaches a campus, but identify to campus security this individual that is approaching that campus- [2:31:19] Mm-hmm [2:31:19] ... as well as censorships inside the dormitory. Now, we're not talking about video sensors. We're talking about vaping and chemicals. We're talking about loud noises. We're talking about the yelling of a certain emergency word of a student, and we're talking about heat sensored knowing that when a room is now packed from two people to now 20, campus security needs to start to get on their way. [2:31:50] So from that and around the corner diagnosis from camera situations and being able to tell when an individual is approaching the campus if they have one on them already, we are supplying a state-of-the-art using AI to go ahead and provide that kind of safety mechanism that is long overdue. [2:32:15] It is. [2:32:16] So I did wanna present it, and of course, i- if you'd like, I can certainly send your office all the details. [2:32:24] I would like that. [2:32:24] But I do believe that this is state-of-the-art utilizing both the hardware and the AI technology for student safety. I just wanted to propose it as a part of, uh, maybe an interesting conversation if you guys would love to have that conversation further. [2:32:41] Yes, we would love. So if I could meet with you, um, Diego Ardory, uh, Henry right here can tell... get with you on what date- [2:32:53] Abso- [2:32:53] ... what day I'm available on. [2:32:55] Absolutely. I mean, every- [2:32:56] And anyone else on the committee, I'll, uh, when I find out, I'm, you know, what date, I'll share with them in case they wanna come. [2:33:03] Sure, sure. I'll be available. I'll be more than happy. This is all set up already. Everything is already designed and implemented and ready to go. [2:33:11] Oh, wow. Do you have a business that we would come to, or you wanna do it here? [2:33:15] We're, uh, we're, we're, w- we're meeting with Georgia Tech in two days. [2:33:19] Okay. [2:33:20] And we're, we're, we're moving fast. [2:33:22] Okay. That's good. That's good. Well, I think we've, we, with you and with, uh, uh, we started out with the youth, talking about the youth who are already, uh, you know, very excited about AI and using it and, and talented and u- and using it on their talent and skills, to the HBCUs and the other colleges 'cause, because it's not just the HBCUs, i-, uh, that are, are loving it. And you're going to Georgia Tech, you say? [2:33:51] Yes. [2:33:52] So all of our colleges. [2:33:53] Yeah, we're going, we're going to all... We're going to 12 of them here in the immediate vicinity, but our plan is to go statewide. [2:34:01] Oh, wonderful. We need to really talk about that. Um, I've been working with HBCUs, though, for a long time- [2:34:08] Yep [2:34:08] ... because, uh, I, my, you know, my whole family kinda went to- [2:34:13] Sure [2:34:13] ... the ones here in Atlanta. [2:34:14] Yeah. [2:34:15] You know, from Morehouse- ... my late husband and my dad and my uncle. [2:34:18] Yeah, tell- [2:34:19] My mom graduated from Spelman. I graduated from Morris Brown. Then I came back- [2:34:22] It's a whole history. [2:34:23] Yeah. And, and we had Clark, but I came back to Morris Brown to be on their board, and they got their accreditation back when they had that- [2:34:32] I remember [2:34:32] ... terrible president that did some crazy- [2:34:34] 'Cause you also, and you also have those five colleges that have their own consortium where the five of them- [2:34:39] Right [2:34:40] ... have gotten together and- [2:34:41] Exactly [2:34:41] ... we're, we're all over that, too, so- [2:34:43] Oh, wonderful [2:34:44] ... we're, we're just, we're kinda really just, we're, we're... The, the, the worst part is that sometimes it takes a little while to get a call back. [2:34:53] Yeah. You have to call Diego. He'll get the call back. [2:34:55] Yeah, that's what I gotta do. All right, you and I are gonna be best friends, okay? [2:35:00] We appreciate you. [2:35:01] Yep. [2:35:01] And do we have any questions for... And yeah, one question. Uh, please pronounce your name again. [2:35:10] My first na- [2:35:11] My name is Pierre, and my last name is Denize [2:35:15] Denize, okay. De- De- [2:35:18] Nice and easy. Nice and easy [2:35:19] ... and then I got, we got a lot of- [2:35:20] There's like an accent, there's an accent they do over the E [2:35:22] ... uh, a- and see, you got a lot of- ... the same, uh, letters in, in- ... in Denize that I have, Denzella. [2:35:29] Right. [2:35:29] We got the D, we got the Z- [2:35:30] Yeah [2:35:31] ... we got the E. [2:35:31] No, you, you, you, you got that- [2:35:33] And the E [2:35:33] ... you got that flow going, though But I, I'm very impressed that- [2:35:37] Thank you [2:35:37] ... I'm very impressed that you guys have done this. [2:35:40] Thank you. [2:35:40] Um, and, and so I- [2:35:41] Well, I'm just trying to make it fun for y'all because I'm not a straight-laced kind of person. [2:35:46] Sure. [2:35:47] But, uh, but I did, I... it's too serious to get, you know, too, too, uh, you know, comfortable with it [2:35:53] ... well, not only that, but, you know, even afterwards, you know, you gotta review what you already heard- [2:35:57] Absolutely [2:35:57] ... and then you gotta do an evaluation and look into stuff. But just the commitment of setting this up, um, I've, I've seen in the past, and, um, I don't know if anybody can share my sentiments, but a lot that happens here in Georgia, Georgia becomes almost a microscope- [2:36:14] Mm-hmm [2:36:15] ... where you're looked at, and you become the leader, and then people actually start to mimic you and start to copy the kind of things that you've done. So I just, I just commend you for what you're doing. [2:36:28] Thank you. You h- you heard our economic development department. [2:36:31] I did. [2:36:32] Hey, she, she wasn't just, she wasn't bragging. She was giving the facts. [2:36:37] She was laying it down. [2:36:38] Trying to be number one. And, and to tell you the truth, we're in technology too. You, you, you heard the innovative things that's going on. [2:36:47] Yes. [2:36:47] So we are, we are, uh, working in the state of Georgia. And you're right, they take, they have their eyes on Georgia, so we're gonna be- [2:36:53] Oh yeah, all eyes on you [2:36:53] ... the first one and the strongest, the strongest. Anyway, so I do appreciate y- you, uh, coming today. [2:37:01] Sure. [2:37:01] And, uh, you said that everybody's gonna be really hungry. [2:37:05] That's what I said. [2:37:06] So- [2:37:06] And that was my prediction. [2:37:07] So i- is it- So if there's, uh, no other questions and nobody in the audience that have something burning that they have to say before we end, anybody? Yes, you wanna... Oh, come on back. [2:37:21] I'm gonna say thank you. [2:37:22] I should've thanked you. [2:37:23] I wanna say thank you. [2:37:23] Thank you. Thank you. [2:37:24] Just, Senator- [2:37:24] And, and, uh- [2:37:25] It was a pleasure- [2:37:26] ... Calvin, come on up [2:37:27] ... for whatever, uh, Mr. Denize has known us since he was a young man. [2:37:33] Oh, boy. [2:37:35] Say was? [2:37:36] I think that- [2:37:37] He, he's known me since I was 10 [2:37:38] ... one of the major things is that- [2:37:40] Wow [2:37:41] ... um, the ability to wrap around as a team- [2:37:44] Mm-hmm [2:37:45] ... all the things that we heard, because this rollout, you can, um, wrap that property concept, promotional opportunity that you have, hard copy all of the- [2:38:00] You need to get to the- [2:38:01] ... all of the urban standards that- [2:38:02] We streaming, so you gotta get over here to... Thank you very much. Thank you. And we gonna close- [2:38:11] I wanted to commend you, uh, quickly. Um- [2:38:13] Mm-hmm [2:38:14] ... Senator, commend you and the Urban Affairs Committee and all of the guests. We have a wonderful historic opportunity to actually follow up each person's segment in this AI puzzle to produce a forward-thinking policy orientation, psychological framework around this animal called AI and its future, and apply it to a growth principle for our talent pipeline- [2:38:49] Mm-hmm [2:38:49] ... our legislative caucusing, as well as our constituent service platform. Again, all of this was provided and handed to us by Senator James in terms of opening up the door to constituent services and people- [2:39:09] Yes [2:39:09] ... by Senator Albers and Senator Merritt for the beginning of government oversight, because everything is in play without a playbook, and by the governor presenting the opportunity for data center infrastructure, because at the end of the day, without that, there is no competition, there is no infrastructure for change in terms of the 21st century. So all of these layers come together, and the people that spoke, if we can actively become a working family with this network based on what you literally are doing right now, Georgia is first in the nation to realize a bipartisan opportunity. [2:39:56] Thank you. [2:39:56] So we thank you, Senator James, Dori, Diego, and all of the Urban Affairs Committee and, and agencies for this moment. [2:40:08] Thank you very much. Thank you. Miss... I, I always have a clap here, even when you call me on the phone. Other things. But, uh, we have, uh, had our committee, uh... You wanna say your name, lawyer, attorney? [2:40:24] Sure. Vince Levy, Office of Legislative Counsel. [2:40:27] Uh, Matthew Shock, Senate Counsel. [2:40:30] Peter Ball, Office of Senate Counsel. [2:40:32] We thank you. And, and, uh- [2:40:34] No, Joy was here [2:40:35] ... she's been taking your pictures, so if you didn't wanna be on, on camera, you need to talk to her now and get, get off. But we thank you. And I wanna give, um, I wanna ask our, our legal, uh, team over here to give us, um, some update of... We know of at least two other states that have passed legislation, and so I wanna see what they are. And now that we've learned that some of our Department of Government... [2:41:06] Uh oh. Uh, I forgot I gotta, I'm telling, I gotta follow my own advice. I gotta talk into the, to the mic. But we, we need to do that. And so thank you very much if you can help us. And Zach, always thank you, and if you can give me any, if you see any, uh, information that, or workshops that you know that we need to go to, I'll invite everybody, but I'll try to make sure that I go to them. Because we wanna make sure, uh, that we move forward and put together, uh, safeguards and everything that we need to move forward with AI in the state of Georgia for our children and generations to come. [2:41:48] Thank you. I'm Donzella James, and we're gonna adjourn this meeting now. And it is what time? [2:41:55] 12:29. [2:41:56] 12:29. [2:41:58] Mm-hmm. [2:41:58] Thank you. And you do have time to go, uh, and get some food. We have a cafeteria over there, but you- But Mayor Max just a few miles up the road. [2:42:11] Yeah, boy. [2:42:11] But, uh, thank you, thank you, thank you. And we'll, and, and if I had known we were gonna be here this long, I would've made sure we had food. But we did have water, so. Thank you and-