New Jersey has launched the NJ AI Assistant, a generative AI-powered platform for New Jersey State employees that will serve as a safe, “sandbox” environment for state employees to use AI to responsibly improve government services and operations.
The governor’s office explained that the new tool is hosted on state infrastructure, features heightened security and privacy protections, and does not use state data to train a third-party AI model.
In addition to the new tool, the state also rolled out comprehensive generative AI (GenAI) training programs for State employees. The new training course was created in partnership with InnovateUS and is specifically designed for state workers and is focused on ensuring that any use of AI is safe, secure, respectful of residents’ privacy, free of bias, and in line with state policies.
“With the launch of the state’s very own AI Assistant and the GenAI training course, we are on the cusp of a new era of government transformation. We are empowering our public servants with the knowledge, skills, and training to comfortably and responsibly leverage this technology to solve real problems for New Jerseyans,“ said Gov. Phil Murphy. “I look forward to all the ways our state departments and agencies will put this technology to good use, ensuring New Jersey remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
State leaders said the training course was designed in consultation with Federal, state, industry, and academic leaders as well as New Jersey’s public sector workforce. The AI training course offers an overview of generative AI, best practices for responsible use in day-to-day work, and strategies for identifying and overcoming risks like bias.
The training also provides hands-on guidance in how to use GenAI to suggest plain language improvements to public information, summarize lengthy documents, brainstorm and generate new content, and more. The course, available through the New Jersey Civil Service Commission’s learning management system, is free and voluntary for all state employees and can be completed at an individual’s own pace.
In conjunction with the training course, the new NJ AI Assistant provides state employees with an AI tool to test the use cases described in the training on a secure platform with heightened security and data protections.
“Generative AI is evolving in real time, and now our public workforce will be on the forefront of advancing this technology and helping to realize its boundless potential to build a better New Jersey,” said New Jersey State Chief AI Strategist Beth Simone Noveck. “This tool and training will help State departments enhance public service delivery, improve efficiency, and ensure these innovations are accessible and beneficial to all New Jerseyans, while protecting their rights and privacy.”
