Code for America Unveils New Government AI Landscape Assessment

New research from Code for America's AI Studio illustrates how governments are preparing for and deploying AI, with states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah leading the way 

SAN FRANCISCO, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Code for America—the leading civic tech nonprofit that's making public services easier to navigate through technology—today released a new Government AI Landscape Assessment evaluating how states across the U.S. are exploring, adopting, and regulating AI.

AI is reshaping how public services are designed, delivered, and evaluated. The new analysis provides a clear picture of the readiness levels of states when it comes to AI adoption, categorizing states into four levels: early, developing, established, and advanced. An interactive data visualization creates an accessible snapshot of AI implementation and policy across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, focusing on three key areas:

• Leadership & Governance: Evaluates the organizational structure and leadership dedicated to AI initiatives, assessing whether there is executive-level ownership through a Chief AI Officer or equivalent position, the existence of a cross-agency AI advisory group, and an overall governance approach to AI implementation.
  
  
• AI Capacity Building: Evaluates whether states are investing in developing AI literacy, skills, and expertise across their workforces, including formal training programs, partnerships with educational institutions and industry for knowledge transfer, and structured upskilling pathways for employees.
  
  
• Technical Infrastructure & Capabilities: Evaluates whether states have the technical foundation necessary to support quality data and advanced AI implementations, examining data infrastructure and accessibility, computing resources and platforms, and partnerships with technical vendors and service providers.

"This analysis demonstrates what many of us know to be true: states are leading the way when it comes to adopting AI to make government more efficient and effective," said Jenn Thom, Code for America's Senior Director of Data Science. "When done right, AI can help government better serve people—making services faster and more accessible. At Code for America, we're focused on helping states navigate this transformative technology with the intention necessary to create lasting solutions that work well for everyone."

While most states are still in the development phase, the assessment identified three national leaders: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Utah. In Pennsylvania, leaders have aggressively pursued workforce capacity building through training partnerships with Carnegie Mellon and InnovateUS. New Jersey appointed a Chief AI Strategist and launched NJ AI Assistant, a generative AI-powered platform for state employees. And Utah created the first dedicated state run AI policy office in the country and was one of the first states to appoint a Chief Data Officer (CDO) with AI responsibilities.

To develop a comprehensive view of state-level AI readiness and use, Code for America conducted extensive research by reviewing publicly available materials, including gubernatorial executive actions, AI-focused legislation and policy, state-level agency guidance and reports, news coverage and industry reporting, and direct input from all 50 states.

As the nation's leading civic technology organization, Code for America works with government at all levels across the country to make the delivery of public services better with technology. Code for America has partnered with red and blue states to create integrated benefits applications, document uploaders, and other improvements to make the benefits delivery process easier for both the people accessing services and the state agencies delivering them.

Last year, Code for America launched its AI Studio to help government prepare to use AI in human-centered ways. The studio recently partnered with Salt Lake City, Utah and the state of Georgia to build an open-source AI prototype that can help government break down accessibility barriers created by PDFs. To learn more about partnering with Code for America, visit codeforamerica.org/partner-with-us.

About Code for America
Code for America, the country's leading civic tech nonprofit for over 15 years, believes that government can work for the people, and by the people, in the new digital age. We work with government at all levels across the country to make the delivery of public services better with technology. We partner with community organizations and governments to build digital tools, change policies, and improve programs. Our goal: a resilient government that works well for everyone. Learn more at codeforamerica.org.

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SOURCE Code for America