NSW government unveils new Office for AI

The NSW Government has formally established a dedicated artificial intelligence unit, more than a year after it was recommended in a comprehensive review into AI use across the state.

Housed within Digital NSW, the new Office for AI, will be overseen by Department of Customer Services chief information and digital officer Laura Christie, with an initial two-year run.

The unit will lead a coordinated rollout of AI across the NSW public sector, supporting AI adoption and capability uplift within individual agencies, DCS confirmed to iTnews.

It will also develop NSW AI operational policy and implement the AI Assessment Framework across the government.

The department will appoint a head of AI to lead the multi-disciplinary team, which will comprise skills spanning architecture and development, business strategy and change management. 

In a statement, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib said the office will “set the roadmap on how to safely and responsibly incorporate and manage emerging technologies” in government services.

“Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of our everyday lives, and as a government, we need to make sure it is used responsibly and provides clear benefits for the community,” he added.

However, a spokesperson for the minister pointed to a number of current state-led AI initiatives, including an AI system to analyse school zone activity in the Hunter region; the NSW Rural Fire Service’s bushfire system Athena and NSWEduChat, a generative AI tool for teachers.

The office will sit alongside the existing AI Review Committee, which reviews high-risk AI projects with the NSW Government.

The Office for AI follows a series of recommendations made following a state-led inquiry into AI last year [pdf].

Among these was a broader AI governance framework, including the appointment of multiple chief AI officers across departments and agencies.

It also recommended establishing a central register of automated decision-making systems and conducting a regulatory gap analysis to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the government’s use of AI.