Purchasing Responsible AI: Balancing Innovation, Risk, & Accountability

As government agencies increasingly explore AI-powered solutions, procurement teams face a critical challenge: how do you evaluate what you can’t yet fully define?

Procurement teams are increasingly looking for new ways to improve efficiency, and many governments are beginning to explore how AI solutions can support their work.  From transparency and accountability to data use and performance claims, governments face a growing challenge: evaluating AI solutions responsibly before making purchasing decisions that impact public dollars, public trust, and public services.

But in a rapidly evolving field, how do procurement teams know what questions to ask vendors to make the right decisions?

Join PEN for a dynamic 90-minute session on how to assess and evaluate whether AI-powered solutions are the right fit. This session will explore the following:

• Principles of Responsible AI Use: Introduce the six core dimensions of responsible AI usage in public procurement and why these principles matter for AI adoption.
• Procurement Strategies: Learn how to ask the right questions to vendors to distinguish between enforceable commitments from marketing claims.
• Real-world Examples: Explore case studies from peer governments on their experiences and lessons learned from drafting and evaluating solicitations for AI systems!

No technical background is required. This session is for anyone exploring, evaluating, or purchasing AI solutions for government use.

Invite your colleagues and join the conversation—you won’t want to miss this session!