Massachusetts rolls out ChatGPT AI assistant for 40,000 government employees

Massachusetts is rolling out a ChatGPT-powered artificial intelligence assistant to roughly 40,000 government employees.

Secretary of Technology Services and Security Jason Snyder spoke to WBZ about the launch, saying the new platform is designed to streamline office tasks, not replace human workers.

"It does like a slice of the job," Snyder said. "It will make maybe writing notes much easier for you, but it doesn't replace the entirety of the job."

The AI assistant, launched Friday for employees in the executive branch, will help with tasks such as drafting and note-taking. Officials emphasized the technology is intended to improve efficiency and productivity rather than eliminate positions.

The expansion of AI tools in government offices comes amid broader discussions about automation and job security. 

Snyder addressed those concerns directly, saying the system will operate under a strict "human at the helm" policy.

"One rule we have, one founding principle that's really important and I'd apply it in all areas of AI, is 'human at the helm,'" Snyder said. "Meaning that whatever you produce in AI, you are still guiding it, and you have to take ownership of it."

Under that policy, employees remain responsible for the accuracy and quality of their work, even if they use the AI assistant to help generate it. Snyder said workers will not be able to blame ChatGPT for mistakes.

Data security, another common concern surrounding AI adoption, was also a key consideration in the rollout. The commonwealth partnered with OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT, to ensure that government data remains protected, Snyder said.

"This new approach, all of our data will be within the commonwealth," he said. "It's not leaving, it's not even going to be used to train the model at all."

Officials said the deployment reflects a broader effort to modernize government operations while maintaining accountability and security standards.