Georgia opens AI Innovation Lab for ethical government testing

Georgia‘s technology department officially opened its Innovation Lab this week, creating a dedicated space for ethical AI experimentation aimed at advancing public service. The facility provides state agencies, cities, counties, and school systems with a hands-on, low-risk environment to test AI use cases before deployment, addressing widespread apprehension about AI adoption through collaboration and transparency.

What you should know: The Innovation Lab occupies the entire seventh floor of the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) headquarters and offers three sandbox environments powered by major cloud providers.

• The lab runs on Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms, pre-loaded with sample data from 19 vetted technology partners.
• Due to high demand before the official opening, the lab has already expanded beyond its original footprint.
• “We’ve repurposed the space originally allocated for our security operations center, which will be relocated to another floor, allowing the AI lab to occupy the entire seventh floor,” said Shawnzia Thomas, CIO and executive director of the GTA.

Why this matters: The lab represents a strategic response to AI anxiety in government, positioning Georgia as a leader in responsible public sector innovation.

• Thomas conceived the idea 18 months ago as AI rapidly emerged, recognizing that “because it was here and there was no stopping that train, we had to do something.”
• The facility operates under guidance from the Georgia AI Advisory Council and follows an “ethical playbook” to ensure legal and societal impacts are fully considered.
• All participants must complete ethics training before using the lab, learning “what not to put in AI” when working with sensitive data.

How it works: The lab functions as a “test kitchen” where technology ideas move from concept to application through controlled experimentation.

• Thomas likened the process to cooking: “just like baking a cake, one needs to test, tweak and perfect things in a controlled setting before serving them to the public.”
• If a technology solution shows promise, “the partner and the agency can go out and do their contracting and put that in production.”
• The lab encourages experimentation and learning from failures, with Thomas noting “sometimes it may work, sometimes it may not.”

Current projects: A growing pipeline of initiatives is already underway, ranging from authentication systems to cybersecurity defenses.

• Projects include a statewide single sign-on platform called My Georgia and AI-driven defenses against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
• Quick wins like chatbots have led to larger initiatives, including an AI call center platform with the Department of Human Services.
• The platform will use AI to train customer service representatives by analyzing past call data, eliminating the need for manual review of every interaction.

Who else is involved: Interest extends well beyond state agencies, with various public sector organizations seeking to leverage the lab’s capabilities.

• Cities, universities, the Atlanta airport, and public transit officials are all exploring potential applications.
• Chief Digital and AI Officer Nikhil Deshpande emphasized that the lab serves as a space to “explore real-world impact, center human needs and build trust through transparency.”

What they’re saying: Leadership emphasizes that AI should augment rather than replace human workers in government operations.

• “Everyone’s afraid of it,” Thomas said about AI adoption. “And to release that fear of it, you have to put your hands on it.”
• “Our approach is grounded in augmentation, not replacement. We want to empower our people to do all the work that we don’t need humans to do,” Thomas explained.
• “With Gov. Brian Kemp’s leadership in inaugurating the Georgia Innovation Lab, we’ve taken a bold step toward shaping the future of public service,” Thomas added.

The big picture: Georgia’s Innovation Lab represents a systematic approach to government AI adoption, prioritizing ethical considerations and collaborative testing over rapid deployment.

• The state now asks “Can AI do this?” with every task, but maintains focus on empowering human workers rather than replacing them.
• The lab’s philosophy centers on getting “AI to do that to get our humans back to doing the work that humans need to do.”