Press Release  Executive Office of Technology Services and Security Hosts Cross-Cabinet AI Showcase

Boston — This week, the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) hosted the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s first “AI Showcase” which featured demonstrations of Generative Artificial Intelligence use case projects by agency technical staff. 

The event at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Boston was attended by over 100 technical employees from agencies across the administration. Presentations demonstrated the progress of several agency-specific AI use cases, conducted in the EOTSS-administered AI “sandbox” - a walled-off, secure virtual environment in which to work with generative AI tools while ensuring that data entered will not be used to train any public AI models. Presentations were made by the Executive Office of Education, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, as well as a presentation from the Commonwealth Chief Technology Officer on the AI Center of Excellence at EOTSS.  

“Bringing together our talented technical staff to share in the learning and excitement of one another’s projects has been so rewarding,” said Technology Services and Security Secretary Jason Snyder. “We recognize the immense value of convening our administration to learn from each other and collaborate in our work in emerging technology.”

The event concluded with the presentation of awards by Secretary Snyder to the project owners, as voted on by the attendees. Awards focused on projects deemed most innovative, most impactful to Massachusetts residents, most scalable and sustainable, biggest improvement to service delivery, and the “Game Changer” award for the project most likely to revolutionize problem-solving at the agency level. 

Projects receiving awards:

·         Innovation Mastermind: A&F Child Support Payment Predicter tool

·         Community Hero: HHS Predictive Analysis tool 

·         Future Proof Solution: HHS “Beyond the Inquiry” tool

·         Service Excellence: EOE Searchable Assistant Manager (SAM)

·         Game Changer Award: EOE Open Data Chatbot 

“Together, we harness the enormous power of innovation, driven by our dedicated state employees, to create game-changing solutions that not only improve service delivery but also revolutionize problem-solving at every level,” said Executive Office of Education Chief Information Officer Antoine Harrison. “In embracing AI safely, we commit to projects that are impactful for the state and our communities, ensuring that our collective efforts lead to a brighter future for all.”  

"AWS is proud to collaborate with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to take a leading role in advancing generative AI innovations alongside its Executive agency partners,” said Faisal Hanafi, AWS director of U.S. State & Local Government and Education. “Working together, we are well-positioned to support the Commonwealth’s drive for meaningful outcomes for its residents that will enhance digital services and improve the overall constituent experience."

Executive Branch AI projects emanate from the AI Center of Excellence, established in 2024 to support the development and adoption of Artificial Intelligence through helpful policies, standards, and best practices, particularly in this rapidly evolving field. The goal of the Center is to embrace AI's enormous power for change while establishing AI guidelines to ensure Commonwealth agencies are developing AI safely, securely, and equitably. The AI Center of Excellence is a hub that promotes collaboration, innovation, and excellence and provides leadership and guidance on AI usage and adoption. 

The AI Center of Excellence also addresses potential security concerns related to AI use cases and provides guidance so teams can proactively mitigate risks and align with existing standards. To ensure risks are evaluated, and mitigation strategies are identified upfront, all project teams intending to procure or work with a product or solution that incorporates AI (including traditional AI, such as machine learning, and Generative AI) are asked to complete an AI Project Risk Evaluation for review by the AI Center of Excellence.

About EOTSS:

As the state’s lead technology secretariat, EOTSS is charged with the responsibility of coordinating the Administration’s information technology activities and ensuring that all executive department agencies adhere to its published standards, policies, and procedures. This enterprise approach provides a single, comprehensive framework to ensure that the state is in alignment to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Commonwealth’s data and information systems.  

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