Maryland has secured more than $2.6 million in philanthropic grant funding to launch artificial intelligence tools aimed at streamlining access to public benefits such as food assistance, Medicaid and unemployment services, Gov. Wes Moore said.

The state received two of seven national awards from the Public Benefit Innovation Fund, a program of the Center for Civic Futures, a nonprofit that supports governments experimenting with emerging technologies to improve public services. The fund drew more than 400 applications from 45 states, according to the center.

The grants will be distributed over two years and support projects led by the Maryland Department of Human Services and the Maryland Department of Labor, in collaboration with other state agencies and research partners, according to a Tuesday evening news release from Moore’s office.

Moore framed the funding as part of a broader effort to modernize government services while maintaining safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence can be a powerful tool for change,” Moore said, adding that the administration aims to use AI “responsibly” to reduce barriers to essential services such as nutrition, housing and health care. “These awards recognize our state’s work to leverage the potential of technology and our commitment to leaving no one behind.”

Multi-million dollar grants

One grant, totaling $1.2 million, will fund a multistate effort led by the Maryland Department of Human Services, the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange and Maryland Benefits. The project is intended to develop AI tools to help verify work requirements, reduce administrative barriers and improve access to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, the center said earlier this month.

Maryland will anchor the effort through the American Public Human Services Association, a national network of leaders from local human services agencies. The tools will be built as open-source modules, allowing other states to adapt the software for their own public benefits programs. The Center for Civic Futures said the project will be developed in partnership with Nava PBC, a company that helps governments design and improve digital services.

The Moore administration said the project comes as new federal work requirements included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed earlier this year, take effect. State officials estimate the requirements could affect up to 80,000 Marylanders receiving SNAP benefits and about 300,000 Medicaid enrollees.

Patrick Mulford, chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary at the Maryland Department of Information Technology, told The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday that “all final decisions regarding benefits will be made exclusively by agency staff, never by AI tools.” He added that, for programs like SNAP, AI will assist customers in submitting higher-quality documentation upfront, which he said will speed up processing and help staff make more accurate benefit determinations.

A second grant, totaling $1.45 million, will go to the Maryland Department of Labor. The agency plans to collaborate with the Government Performance Lab and the Computational Policy Lab, applied research groups based at Harvard University, to test AI tools aimed at improving service delivery, according to the administration.

The Center for Civic Futures said the project will include staff training simulators and AI systems designed to help caseworkers navigate complex regulations and process paperwork. In the release, Labor Secretary Portia Wu said the effort is intended to reduce administrative barriers and improve customer service.

Mulford said the state will track how long it takes customers to submit work verification information to evaluate the pilots, gather feedback from community organizations that assist applicants and assess the efficiency and accuracy of administrative processes.

Though the timeline remains unclear, Mulford said the state will use agile development practices throughout the grant periods to support rapid deployment, testing, evaluation and refinement.

Any continuation or expansion beyond the grant period, he added, will depend on analysis of the projects’ outcomes.

Ensuring privacy

The grants come as Moore has increasingly positioned Maryland as a leader in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In previous interviews with The Baltimore Sun and at public events, Moore has said AI could improve government efficiency in areas such as hunger relief and child poverty, while stressing the need for safeguards.

State officials said any AI systems developed through the grants will be subject to Maryland’s Responsible AI Policy, which includes reviews related to data security, privacy and ethics.

“The AI tools are being created on the state’s secure, private technology platform, not through a commercial company. This ensures that no private customer information will be used, seen, or utilized to train the AI for commercial reasons,” Mulford said. “The system’s main focus is protecting data security and privacy. We will not use any customer’s personal content for training the AI without their clear permission.”

Baltimore City Del. Caylin Young, who previously pushed for legislation to better understand and integrate the technology in Maryland schools — a bill that ultimately did not pass — praised the governor and his team for “setting the state up for long-term success by leveraging new technology.”

“I’m glad to see that Maryland is positioned to lead real implementation of AI on real use cases that’ll improve outcomes for our residents,” Young told The Sun in an email. “The legislature has a role in ensuring there are proper legal supports, oversight and guardrails where needed, as we do with anything. Ultimately, that’s a good challenge to face.”

Still, some lawmakers remain skeptical, particularly regarding workforce applications. State Sen. Katie Fry Hester, a Howard and Montgomery County Democrat, raised concerns during the 2025 legislative session about potential discrimination if employers used AI to screen job applicants.

Fry Hester’s bill to prohibit such screening, except under strict conditions, did not pass and it is unclear if she will reintroduce the measure when the legislature convenes in two weeks.

_________

©2025 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.