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Dive Brief:

• California cities and counties will receive discounted access to Claude, Anthropic’s AI productivity assistant, as part of a partnership the company entered into with the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday.
• The 50% discount will apply to Claude’s AI services that include drafting and summarizing documents, analyzing information and improving day-to-day government workflows, according to the governor’s office. 
• The deal also applies to state agencies, which will receive free AI workforce training from the California-based company. The partnership reflects the state’s goal of using AI “responsibly, transparently, and in service of people,” Newsom said in a news release. “AI should not replace the human work of government; it should help our workers move faster, solve problems more effectively, and deliver better results for Californians.”

Dive Insight:

State and local governments are increasingly incorporating AI into operations, surveys show, and several public-sector deals with AI service providers have been inked. 

San Francisco entered into an agreement with Microsoft to give city employees access to the company’s 365 Copilot Chat last summer. San Jose, California, is also partnering with several major AI companies as part of its “AI for All” initiative for residents and city staff. 

Other AI companies also tailor their services for the public sector, including OpenAI and Microsoft.

California has already been using Anthropic’s Claude to facilitate a platform designed to promote policy engagement, as well as to power “Poppy,” the state’s own AI tool for state employees designed to handle queries for state business. 

“As state employees, our goal is to provide our fellow Californians with the best possible service,” California Government Operations Agency Secretary Nick Maduros said in a news release. “To do that, we need to make sure our teams have access to the best modern tools, including Claude and other emerging technologies.”

The impact of broad AI deployment in the public sector remains unclear. A survey earlier this year found that less than 2% of public sector leaders are deploying the technology across departments. Privacy and security concerns remain high. 

In a funding opportunity announcement for AI permitting systems last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development noted a lack of clear data surrounding the technology and its local adoption.

“While these systems are increasingly marketed to state and local governments, there is limited publicly available documentation of implementation experiences, staffing implications, and governance considerations,” HUD said.