Artificial intelligence has moved to the top of the 2026 State CIO Top 10 Priorities list, ending cybersecurity's nearly 12-year run at No. 1, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. The shift does not signal that security has become less important. It reflects how AI is now shaping nearly every technology decision state governments make, from infrastructure and data governance to service delivery and identity management.
"I don't necessarily see that AI is replacing cybersecurity as a priority. I see AI changing almost every priority on every CIO's agenda," said Kristin Darby, CIO for the State of Tennessee, during a panel discussion produced by Scoop News Group for NTT DATA. "CIOs are simultaneously being asked to enable it, govern it, secure it and demonstrate value from it."
Targeting friction, not flash
State technology leaders are steering AI adoption toward areas where public friction runs highest. Navigating benefit programs, completing complex application paperwork, and other high-effort citizen interactions are the primary targets, not flashy pilot programs.
"The goal being to put human judgment where it matters, let technology take friction out of everything around it, but keep the person accountable for consequential decisions," said Clint Dean, Head of Sales for State, Local and Education at NTT DATA.
This approach keeps the emphasis on outcomes rather than novelty. For CIOs building the AI Learning Path for CIOs often starts with governance and security foundations before scaling to citizen-facing services.
Building flexible infrastructure
As workloads shift toward agentic AI systems capable of autonomous action, infrastructure strategy must change. Panelists warned against building fragmented tech stacks for one-off AI use cases and urged states to invest in shared enterprise capabilities and flexible compute environments.
"The different compute, cost and latency requirements that AI has compared to conventional applications are very different," said Sezin Palmer, AI Solutions Lead for North America at NTT DATA. "Rather than focusing on a one-size-fits-all solution, building in that flexibility into the strategy for your infrastructure around AI is really important."
That shifting infrastructure is also redrawing security frameworks, especially around machine identity and authorization. "Identity is no longer just about people," Darby said. "If an AI agent can take an action on behalf of an employee or interact with another system, we need clear identity, authorization, auditability and accountability."
Trusted data over perfect data
Legacy data silos remain a central hurdle, but state CIOs should not stall projects while chasing perfect data cleanliness across every system. Darby urged states to prioritize the data that drives specific business outcomes rather than trying to "boil the ocean."
"We don't need perfect data everywhere. We need trusted, governed data where it matters," she said.
Palmer recommended an incremental approach built around high-value data domains, integration layers, and automated tools. "Focusing on those high-value data domains…and getting that data cleaned up becomes something that's more a part of the process as opposed to a separate step," she said. For government teams, targeted AI for Government training can help bridge the gap between data readiness and deployment.
With budgets tight, state leaders are being pushed toward tools that serve multiple purposes. Dean framed the decision around three questions: "Does it reduce risk? Does it produce the outcome that you want to achieve? And then, is it reusable?"
Why this matters for government professionals
State CIOs are no longer deciding whether to adopt AI. They are deciding how to build the infrastructure, identity frameworks, and data governance that make it safe and repeatable. The priority shift means procurement teams, agency heads, and IT staff should expect AI requirements to appear in nearly every technology initiative. Projects that lack clear reusability or fail to address machine identity will face harder scrutiny. The message from state leadership is consistent: govern it, secure it, and tie it to a measurable outcome before scaling.
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