Students from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst presented a slate of AI projects to Gov. Maura Healey and state officials in Boston Friday, according to a news release. The event marked a milestone in the state’s AI for the Commonwealth (AI4CW) initiative, which embeds students in Massachusetts agencies to develop AI tools addressing practical challenges in public service delivery.
FROM LAUNCH TO DELIVERY
The showcase of projects for agencies ranging from the state departments of Unemployment Assistance to Transportation builds on a policy effort launched in December 2024, when the Healey-Driscoll administration announced the creation of the Massachusetts AI Hub. The statewide initiative aimed to coordinate infrastructure, research and workforce development efforts around AI. Backed by $100 million in state funding, it brought together public agencies, nonprofits and higher-education institutions to expand access to the high-performance computing necessary for AI projects, promote AI research and workforce development initiatives, and ensure alignment with ethical principles.
At this time, the administration recruited UMass Amherst students to work full time in Massachusetts state agencies. According to a December news release, the partnership built on a success with a similar project involving students at Northeastern University. That work not only led to endeavors like a generative AI sandbox that allows experimentation without exposing government data to external AI models, and a chatbot for navigating health policy documents — but also created a pipeline for college students to join the public agencies as full-time staff.
“Our young people are plugged into AI innovation and showing us the path forward, which is why we launched this higher education partnership,” Healey said in a public statement.
PROJECTS FOR PUBLIC AGENCIES
Since its launch, the work has produced a series of projects spanning multiple state functions. At Friday’s event, students demonstrated seven tools, all developed in the secure AI sandbox.
The projects included: a digital guide for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to help residents navigate complex environmental permit applications; an assistant tool for the Department of Unemployment Assistance to more efficiently direct callers to resources; and a system for the Department of Transportation to improve procurement by organizing and aggregating vendor information.
Others were a tool for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to speed up the complaint process and generate reports; a chatbot for the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security to answer human resources questions and free up staff time; a training platform from UMass Amherst that provides multilingual support for culinary workers seeking to build skills and advance their careers; and a chatbot for the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center Unity to aid researchers in troubleshooting technical issues more quickly.
To ensure ethical use, all student-built tools are reviewed by the state’s AI Center of Excellence before being made available to agencies. The center evaluates projects for data privacy, responsible implementation and compliance with state standards.
For participating students, the program offers applied learning opportunities alongside exposure to public service careers, according to the news release.
“From the outset, our work in AI has been focused on applying these tools to directly address the state’s business functions to better serve our residents,” Technology Services and Security Secretary Jason Snyder said in a public statement. “These student-led projects demonstrate a high degree of technical skill and professionalism.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Massachusetts is not alone in recognizing the value of students’ contributions to AI policy and projects in state government. In March, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont invited Yale students to present their suggestions on AI policy; in Maryland, a newly launched AI internship program deployed 17 student interns into state agencies.
Gov. Healey said AI can make government services more efficient and less costly. Her administration plans to continue to work with higher-education institutions to this end.
“I’m so proud of the work that UMass Amherst students are doing to help state government incorporate AI to make services more efficient and effective,” UMass President Marty Meehan said in a public statement. “Governor’s Healey’s leadership in establishing the AI4CW Initiative is fostering an environment of innovation that is helping state government work better, giving our students valuable hands-on experience, and ultimately making sure Massachusetts has the best prepared AI workforce in the country.”
