Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would require an annual report on the use of artificial intelligence by state agencies, such as the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia.
“I think there’s a lot of thirst to use AI to help with productivity, but I think there’s a lot of angst as to what could go wrong with it as well,” said Tom McMurry, chief information officer of the Teachers Retirement System.
“I know TRS tends to be a little more innovative in some of our use of technology,” McMurry added.
Why It’s Newsworthy: The Teachers Retirement System handles the retirement benefits for educators statewide, including many UGA faculty and residents of Clarke and surrounding counties.
The Teachers Retirement System
The Teachers Retirement System of Georgia handles the retirement benefits for public school teachers and many University System of Georgia employees. The agency serves over 11,000 retirees and active members in Clarke County.
McMurry said TRS uses Microsoft Copilot to allow members to interact with a responsive AI tool. He also said the communications group uses AI in Canva and Adobe products for some marketing endeavors. These uses of AI were approved by the Georgia Technology Authority, as is required by current state policy.
“Our policy also includes keeping a human between the AI tool and what ultimately gets published, so everything requires human review,” McMurry said.
The Legislative Process
Georgia House Bill 147 would require state agencies to conduct an inventory on the use of artificial intelligence, as well as establish policies around the implementation and ongoing use of AI systems, which will be made available in an annual report by the Georgia Technology Authority.
The Georgia Technology Authority includes the AI Advisory Council, which was established in 2024 to create guidance regarding the use of AI in state government. McMurry said the existing policies requiring approval make it so that an annual inventory would not raise any new obstacles for TRS as it continues to utilize AI.
Todd Jones is one of the sponsors of the bill and said he believes the inventory will help agencies become more efficient. Jones represents District 25 in the state House of Representatives and serves as the chair of the Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee.
“It’s going to allow them to take a view of how they’re using technology to effectively do its primary purpose, which is to serve our constituents,” Jones said.
Community Reactions
Jason Anastasopoulos, an associate professor of public administration and statistics at the University of Georgia with a doctorate in political science, has been researching the societal implications of machine learning and AI since 2017. He said he sees potential positive and negative impacts of increased AI use by state agencies.
“I think what they’re trying to do, again, is they’re just taking stuff that already exists, protocols that already exist, and they’re just mapping it onto AI and saying, ‘Okay, AI is just, like, this new piece of software, and so, you know, we’re just gonna take our old policies and apply them to AI,’” Anastasopoulos said.
Kelly Girtz, mayor of Athens-Clarke County, worked as a teacher and administrator in Clarke County School District for 16 years, making him a member of TRS. He said this bill does not cause him any concern, but he said he believes AI should be used intentionally.
“Like with any tool, there are appropriate uses for AI, but it can be over-used and sometimes allows for ‘sloppiness’ by agencies and their employees,” Girtz said in an email.
The bill passed the House of Representatives almost unanimously during the 2025 session. Jones said he does not believe there will be any challenges to the bill in the Senate.
“I think the Senate sees and understands the importance of state government, you know, taking inventory of itself, especially around technology that will drive us into the next industrial revolution,” Jones said.
Maura Potvin is a second-year student majoring in journalism.
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