PROVIDENCE – As Rhode Island's Artificial Intelligent Task Force works to determine best practices related to the growing industry, the state has hired information technology firm Accenture PLC to provide consulting services.
Rhode Island will pay the IT company no more than $74,980 to carry out consulting services, said Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. Daniel J. McKee, with funding covered by a federal grant.
According to DaRocha, Accenture "will coordinate the delivery of the Task Force final report, assist and coordinate in the execution of Task Force meetings and advise the Task Force on best practices [on a global scale] for AI adoption and risk mitigation across industries."
McKee established the task force earlier this year, with its first meeting taking place in July.
Chris Parisi, president of Trailblaze Marketing and vice chair of the AI Task Force, declined to comment, adding that the state is handling the consultant hiring process. He deferred to Rhode Island Chief Information Officer Brian Tardiff, who did not respond to Providence Business News' request for comment.
Parisi, who urged McKee to create the task force, has previously described its purpose as to "identify and seize opportunities and mitigate the potential risks" associated with AI technology, with a scope that includes government and business uses. Former U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin chairs the group.
Accenture, based in Dublin, Ireland, does not have an office in the Ocean State, but has locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The international corporation has a presence in more than 120 countries.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.