Oklahoma names Tai Phan as chief AI and technology officer to rethink how government operates
Oklahoma has appointed Tai Phan as the state's chief artificial intelligence and technology officer, with the goal of using AI to make government work better and faster. The announcement came Friday, Nov. 21, and signals a clear mandate: deploy AI with discipline, set guardrails, and deliver measurable outcomes for residents.
The role fulfills a recommendation from the Governor's Task Force on Emerging Technologies, created by Gov. Kevin Stitt through a September 2023 executive order. Phan will set standards, guide adoption, and work with agency leaders to implement tools that improve service delivery and reduce waste.
Why this matters for agency leaders
Phan's appointment is more than a title. It's a signal to prioritize AI where it can move the needle on cost, speed, and citizen experience-without risking trust.
- Target real use cases: contact center triage, benefits eligibility support, document processing, licensing workflows, fraud detection, and grant management.
- Adopt standards early: align pilots to a risk framework, document model usage, and set clear retention, privacy, and audit rules. See the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
- Data quality first: inventory systems of record, clean inputs, restrict sensitive data, and enforce role-based access.
- Procurement with intent: pre-approve vendors, require transparency on training data and model lineage, and include performance SLAs and exit plans.
- Human-in-the-loop: route high-impact decisions to staff review; use AI to assist, not replace, critical judgment.
- Measure impact: track cycle times, cost per transaction, call deflection, backlog reduction, and citizen satisfaction.
What to expect from the statewide AI office
- Enterprise policy and playbooks: clear guidance on acceptable use, privacy, security, and public transparency.
- Approved tool list and sandboxes: safe, supported platforms for pilots and production deployments.
- Model governance: documentation, testing, monitoring, and incident response for AI systems.
- Workforce upskilling: training for analysts, program managers, procurement, legal, and IT.
- Agency partnerships: shared services that reduce duplicate spend and speed up delivery.
Phan's background
Since March, Phan has served as CTO at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), where he helped craft the state's IT Strategic Plan and led technology strategy, operations, and delivery of core services to more than 125 agencies, boards, and commissions.
Earlier in his career, he held executive roles at Foot Locker, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and CVS Health. He holds bachelor's degrees in management information systems and organizational behavior from the University of Oklahoma.
On his vision: "We have a remarkable opportunity to rethink how government operates by bringing forward innovation with trust by design to strengthen our mission, improve services and deliver meaningful, measurable impact for the people of Oklahoma."
Context and alignment
The position stems from the Governor's Task Force on Emerging Technologies, which recommended designating a state AI lead to set strategy, vision, and guardrails. For background on statewide directives, see the Governor's executive orders archive.
State Chief Operating Officer David Ostrowe called the move "a pivotal moment" as Oklahoma pushes into a new digital frontier with clear governance and accountability.
Immediate actions for government teams
- Pick one pilot per program area: focus on a process with measurable volume and well-defined outcomes.
- Set guardrails: define data access, red-teaming, bias checks, and human review for sensitive decisions.
- Document everything: purpose, model, data sources, risks, mitigations, KPIs, and accountability owners.
- Plan change management: engage frontline staff early, update SOPs, and provide training before go-live.
- Close the loop: publish results and lessons learned; scale what works, retire what doesn't.
Upskilling your workforce
If your team needs practical training on prompt writing, evaluation, and workflow automation, explore role-based options here: AI courses by job.
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