A few months ago,  we all were inspired at the AI Summit with John Chambers, when he challenged all of us to be bold in our digital strategy for North Carolina.

Chambers reminded us that much of India’s economic success was the result of their bold digital strategy, making sure that they invested in smart cities, digital payment systems, aggressive deployment of high speed broadband and of course, a major focus on AI startups. In many ways, he reminded us that all of us could learn from India’s recent success in Digital Transformation. He ended his remarks to the Tech community and public sector leaders, with a reminder that the time has arrived for North Carolina to now execute a bold digital and AI  strategy.

Chambers said, “I want to see an AI North Carolina, a digital North Carolina that works for all North Carolinians.”

Steve Rao: Triangle innovators make ours smart cities, let’s expand that vision to state

I am convinced that our Digital North Carolina success is dependent on our state and local governments having very clear strategies on how technology can benefit the residents which they serve. Success is defined not only be our technology infrastructure, but how we can leverage innovation to help the citizens we serve every day.

This week at the Raleigh Convention Center, public sector, community and business leaders will convene to have very focused conversation on the opportunities for our state to benefit from the rapid pace of change in AI and digital innovation.

The North Carolina Digital Summit begins this Thursday, hosted by our Secretary of Technology Jim Weaver and Gov Tech magazine. This is the 23rd Digital Summit in North Carolina, and one that will be an informative, and educational experience for anyone who attends.

As we prepare for this conference, I wanted to encourage city leaders, policy makers and tech leaders, to not only attend this summit, but to come prepared to address important issues as the technology landscape changes so fast all around us.

Here are some areas I want you to think about before you sign up for this conference.

Get past the AI hype

Artificial intelligence is one of the most talked about technologies inside and outside of government. AI is the buzzword at almost every conference I attend and many cities and local governments are spending more time exploring how this technology can be incorporated into their digital strategies.

AI is reshaping everything, and IT leaders in government and public sector organizations stand at a pivotal juncture.

Tech Jedi Chambers reminded us that local governments are  viewed as reactive and slower to innovate than the private sector, particularly in areas like AI.

However, the public sector is uniquely positioned to take a hands-on stance in AI implementation and these steps could make a real difference in how North Carolina digital strategy can yield significant benefits to our residents.

The issue we should be focusing on is: How  can IT departments anticipate and address business needs proactively and incorporate AI into their strategies?

In the opening keynote , digital transformation and AI expert Sharon Gai will take us on a journey around the world to get our brainstorming started.  She will start from the bustling streets of Hangzhou and the high-tech healthcare facilities of Tokyo and take us to the classrooms of New York.

Government leaders can understand the myriad ways AI is redefining society and be equipped with actionable insights, aiding them in harnessing the full potential of AI for the betterment of their communities.

Much of the theme of the summit will be focused on how governments can adapt their infrastructure and systems to accommodate technologies like artificial intelligence, IOT and even quantum computing has become imperative to enhance the quality of services to their constituents.

In addition, during this summit, a highlight will be the closing keynote from the Center for Public Sector AI. The panel will explore AI’s potential future paths in GovTech, highlighting emerging trends and discussing how technology and policy leaders can prepare for AI’s impact on service delivery.  Attendees will learn starting points for AI implementation, the importance of collaboration, ethical considerations, and equitable technology access.

I look forward to moderating a panel on the AI User Experience with Raleigh CIO Mark Whittenburg and other experts.

During this panel, the  focus will be on the  intersection of human centered design and accessibility. The goal here is  to explore how we elevate the constituent experience for ALL North Carolinians. Other panels and discussions during the day will hopefully spark much needed brainstorming for all who attend the summit.

Machine learning, chatbots, predictive analytics and most recently, generative AI are only some of the ways AI is rapidly embedding itself into organizations across almost every industry. Now is the time for our state agencies and local governments to explore how we can leverage innovation in these areas and add them to our strategic technology plans. For example, I am excited that Morrisville is looking into Generative AI in this years’ budget for assisting our staff and council with searchability of documents, and other areas of the town. This is not flashy or exciting but it is an example of where AI can help increase productivity and save time for staff, council members, and residents. Let’s share these ideas with other leaders at the summit!

As Chambers reminded us, governments are not alone when it comes to figuring this out. Collaboration with tech companies, and start ups will be critical for state agencies and cities/counties to address challenges in transportation, sustainability, health care and a number of other areas.

Major technology players like SAS, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and others will be on hand to share with our on where there are more pragmatic applications of AI solutions.

Finding the right AI partner does not always have to be the big players.

I would encourage startups in the region to attend the summit, to learn about the challenges public leaders and agencies are facing, and then showcase how their products and services can help them address these challenges. Local startups like Civic Reach, Acta Solutions and Vardix can attend to demonstrate the innovative ways AI can be deployed by local governments to enhance the customer and user experience. Tom Snyder, please send your RIOT companies to meet our state leaders. Collaboration and success with start ups can also lead to job growth, as RIOT continues to demonstrate every day.

And, also, remember, that this summit is not only for state leaders. It is very important that cities and local government attend this so they can learn more about how to help offer high quality services to their residents, along with sharing where they have had success in their digital strategies.

For example, the Town of Morrisville most recently was presented the Global CIO Symposium Award for their innovative smart city initiatives, which have leverage IOT and sensors to yield significant benefits to residents.

We must have this digital summit be a place where towns like Morrisville can share their smart city successes with other municipalities who attend. Each success can build upon the other, and regional collaboration can help identify common problems and technologies that many of these governments face.   Our power to establish a smart state starts now!

There has never been a better time to accelerate smart city innovation than now, as Secretary Weaver, Broadband Superman Nate Denny, and NC DIT continue to deploy high speed broadband across the state. In addition, these smart city/IOT successes can also be shared with state agencies as well.

Come to think of it, the focus of the secretary role in the next administration should be expanded to beyond just state agencies and to setting digital standards (AI, Data, Cyber, Workforce) for all 400 cities and towns in North Carolina.

We can be the smartest state in the nation!

What skills are actually needed to have an effective team in 2024?

Workforce challenges in the public sector are not a new issue, and one major challenge is that much of our state workforce will be retiring. All the more reason for why we will need to focus in more on workforce training programs in emerging technologies like generative AI, analytics, cybersecurity and other emerging areas. I am reminded from Chambers’ example of how the CEO of the French company, La Post, led an effort to train over 275,000 employees on AI, and he worked with over 7 unions to make this happen. Bold efforts like this need to be looked at in North Carolina, and also, we can continue to explore  innovative partnerships with our community college system.

How can we ensure we have the right people in place to align IT initiatives with business strategies?

Are there new approaches to examine as we look to retain and upskill our current staff?

We look forward to hearing from NCTECH CEO Brooks Raidford, NC DIT HR Manager Joey Harrison, and Wake County CIO Jonathan Feldman on this issue.

Protect your data

The continued operation of government services in a disaster and safeguarding critical digital infrastructure and data has never been more important. Public sector organizations must collaborate to build resilience against diverse disruptions such as natural disasters and cyber threats.

Many local governments and state agencies continue to be afraid of our vulnerabilities to a cyber attack. The very recent cyber incident in Apex was a reminder to all of us that none of us are safe, at any time, from these types of incidents. We lived through a cyber incident in Morrisville a few years ago and it was an awful experience. It can happen to any of us, at any time, and can literally take only a few seconds for our entire IT infrastructure and data to be wiped out.

I commend Secretary Weaver on his leadership on this issue and hope we can have him and his team share more ideas on how can continue to be more proactive at all levels of government to prevent cyberattacks. I am concerned that local governments are not talking about the cyber issue enough and hopefully, this will provide them more reasons to attend this year’s digital summit.

Finally, I was inspired last week, by Gov Tech National Conference Director Zach Thorn in an interview on WPTF Radio when he reminded our listening audience that North Carolina has been ranked as one of the top ten technology states in the nation.

Our work in broadband, technology services, cybersecurity and now a focus on an AI strategy continue to position us as one of the most innovative technology states in the country.

I end with this blog with a final insight from Chambers on the topic of success in digital transformation. Any successful digital initiative starts with leaders (governors, mayors, city leaders) who lay out a bold vision and have the team in place to execute this vision. The foundation of India’s rapid rise to become an economic superpower was largely based on their digital strategy. North Carolina has always been a leader in technology, education, and innovation. Now, it is time for us to come together, stay together and work together to make this vision even bolder and brighter than ever before!

We must focus on pushing our state to the gold medal in tech innovation — an AI Carolina, a digital Carolina, one that that leverages technology to provide the best customer experience for our residents, and creates the jobs of the new economy.

We look forward to seeing mayors, county commissioners, council members, state agency heads, members of the Council of State and tech company leaders at the Raleigh Convention Center on Thursday at 8 a.m.

And, a special thanks to Secretary Weaver and Gov Tech for making this event happen and for leading us towards Olympic tech gold!

The post Public and private come together to map NC’s digital future at summit Thursday first appeared on WRAL TechWire.