News · Published · By Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN)
New reporting from Mississippi Today examines how Mississippi state agencies are using or planning to use artificial intelligence, with human oversight remaining central as agencies develop policies and practical applications.
In the September 22 article, “Survey ordered by Gov. Reeves shows many Mississippi agencies are embracing AI use,” reporter Simeon Gates draws on the 2025 Mississippi State Agency AI Inventory, interviews and agency records to describe where AI is already supporting government work and how the state is approaching responsible adoption.
The inventory shows practical adoption with people still responsible
The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services inventory summary says 98 state agencies, boards and commissions responded to the 2025 inventory and 51% of participating entities reported that they were using AI. The summary describes movement from experimentation toward operational use while emphasizing a strong preference for human involvement in decisions.
Gates’ reporting provides examples of how that activity is taking shape. The Mississippi Department of Transportation identified projects involving crash-data queries and documentation quality control. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality reported using tools for research, email drafting and calculations, alongside cybersecurity services.
Those examples illustrate a larger point: AI adoption in government is not one project or one platform. It includes a range of bounded tasks, each of which requires an agency to determine whether a tool is appropriate, what information it may receive and who remains accountable for the result.
Policy and oversight support responsible use
The reporting also describes policy development and safeguards as an important part of Mississippi’s next phase of AI adoption.
ITS approved its AI Acceptable Use Policy in November 2025. The policy governs AI use within ITS and provides standards that other agencies can adopt and build upon. It requires human oversight of AI-supported decisions, protects sensitive and confidential information, identifies prohibited and high-risk activities, and keeps responsibility with the people and agencies using the technology.
Dr. Kollin Napier, chief artificial intelligence officer for the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network, told Mississippi Today that responsible adoption includes acceptable-use guidance, a statewide framework and structured pilots. That approach gives agencies a way to learn from clearly defined projects while retaining human judgment and agency responsibility.
MAIN supports education, workforce preparation, responsible-adoption guidance and implementation pathways. It does not regulate state agencies or approve their AI systems. ITS and individual agencies retain their respective policy and operational responsibilities, while the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Regulation Task Force studies AI issues and makes recommendations to the Legislature.
Public-sector teams looking for practical next steps can review MAIN’s AI policy guides and resources for Mississippi government.
Structured pilots connect public service and workforce preparation
The article also highlights the Mississippi AI Innovation Hub, a collaboration among ITS, Amazon Web Services and MAIN. The Hub brings state agencies, higher education and industry together around defined public-sector use cases.
Student teams work with agency partners on supervised proofs of concept designed to answer practical questions about feasibility, data needs, safeguards and operational fit. A prototype provides evidence for an agency’s next decision; it is not authorization for production deployment.
That structure creates value on two levels. Agencies receive a bounded environment for evaluating an idea, and students gain experience working with real public-service problems, governance requirements and multidisciplinary teams.
Read the original reporting and official sources
This MAIN article summarizes and contextualizes the portions of Gates’ reporting concerning state-agency adoption, governance and MAIN. It is not a republication and does not replace the original reporting, which includes additional agency examples, interviews and records.
- Read “Survey ordered by Gov. Reeves shows many Mississippi agencies are embracing AI use,” by Simeon Gates, published by Mississippi Today on September 22, 2026.
- Review the 2025 Mississippi AI Inventory summary from ITS.
- Read the ITS AI Acceptable Use Policy information.
- Explore the Mississippi AI Innovation Hub.
- Browse MAIN’s government AI resources and policy guides.
About MAIN
The Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network is Mississippi’s statewide AI initiative, anchored at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. MAIN connects education, workforce, government, industry and community partners while providing AI learning opportunities, practical resources, responsible-adoption guidance and implementation support. Learn more at mainms.org.