OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — The state of Oklahoma now has its first Chief Artificial Intelligence and Technology Officer. Tai Phan is taking on the position.

This new position is a result of the Governor’s Task Force on Emerging Technology.

Phan’s job will be to guide how the state uses artificial intelligence, or AI.

FOX 25 spoke with State Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton) who has been involved in learning more about the future of AI as a state legislator.

“We cannot and should not wait for Congress to take action on this issue. There are a number of legislators on both sides of the aisle that have really fine-tuned what needs to be done on AI, whether it’s in education, cybersecurity, healthcare, you name it. And so I’m happy that the Governor, in addition to the task force, has now had this additional leadership role when it comes to AI policy,” Pae said.

A press release said Phan will, “guide Oklahoma’s efforts to use artificial intelligence and modern technology to make government work more efficiently.”

It also said he will help identify opportunities where AI can streamline operations and reduce manual work, as well as make sure systems are secure, reliable and cost-effective.

In a 2023 report from the Governor’s task force, it detailed how 21% of the state’s total workforce is made up of state employees and by 2030 that number could be brought down to 13% with AI.

The report says, “As the number one employer in the State, with approximately 21% of the workforce engaged in public sector jobs, Oklahoma could face a challenge in attracting private sector companies.”

It goes on to say Oklahoma could, “seize upon AI as an opportunity to automate repetitive state related tasks and return some of the available workforce to the private sector.”

Oklahoma has recently seen jobs in the private sector cut due to AI.

“Certainly AI is going to lead to profound changes in the labor market. There’s no denying that fact. At the same time, there is still going to be role for human beings in the workplace. And so the notion that every single job is going to be eliminated by AI, I do disagree with that premise,” Pae told FOX 25. “…Now when it comes to state employees in general, I will say that they are long overdue for a salary increase. And we’ve seen during the pandemic recently with the government shutdown how these men and women do stuff up and go to extra mile to make sure that our core services are functioning. So I hope we have that discussion next year in addition to figuring out where do we go from here on AI impacting some of these particular jobs.”

To view the state’s current AI standard, click here.