Virginia leads U.S. in Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence guidelines

Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 30 on Artificial Intelligence (AI) yesterday, which implements AI Education Guidelines for the classroom.

The order also issues AI Policy and Information Technology Standards in the Commonwealth to safeguard the state’s databases while simultaneously protecting the individual data of Virginians.

“These standards and guidelines will help provide the necessary guardrails to ensure that AI technology will be safely implemented across all state agencies and departments,” Youngkin said. “At the same time, we must utilize these innovative technologies to deliver state services more efficiently and effectively. Therefore, my administration will utilize the $600,000 in proposed funds outlined in my Unleashing Opportunity budget to launch pilots that evaluate the effectiveness of these new standards.”

The Governor’s Executive Order combines strong protections for Virginia residents and businesses while recognizing opportunities presented by AI innovation. As one of the first states in the country to issue AI standards, Virginia is leading the way on AI guidelines and pilots.

The Commonwealth contains the largest population of cybersecurity companies and personnel on the East Coast, colleges and universities that lead the nation in technology research and development, and critical national security and military intelligence institutions, undeniably exposing Virginia to unique AI impacts and enhancing the gravity of these new EO measures.

The policy and information technology standards enacted by EO 30 will be available through the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). The Standards set the technological requirements for the use of AI within government agencies and the approval process for AI initiatives to ensure the safe and ethical use of such initiatives. The Education Guidelines establish guiding principles for the use of AI at all education levels to ensure that our students will be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow without sacrificing any current learning opportunities. The Executive Order also calls for the development of standards for the use of AI by law enforcement personnel.