Updates: Texas Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement this week upon naming Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, to the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. Sen. Parker will serve as co-chair of the council:

“It is very important that Texas state agencies keep up and adapt with the latest technology. Sen. Parker has my full confidence in helping craft recommendations to ensure the appropriate and safe use of AI in state government.”

Sen. Tan Parker, of Flower Mound, is a businessman and entrepreneur representing parts of Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties, and all of Wise County. He is a graduate of the University of Dallas and has a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

The Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, created by House Bill 2060 (88th Legislature), was created to study and monitor AI systems developed, employed, or procured by state agencies, assess the need for a code of ethics for AI systems in state government, and recommend administrative actions state agencies may take without further legislative authorization. The council must submit a report of its findings to the legislature no later than December 1, 2024.

Additionally, Governor Greg Abbott has appointed John Bash, Mark Stone, Ph.D., Dean Teffer, Ph.D., and Angela Wilkins, Ph.D. to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council for terms set to expire at the pleasure of the Governor.

John Bash of Austin is the founder and co-managing partner of the Austin office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and co-chair of the firm’s National Appellate Practice. He was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas from 2017 to 2020. Previously, while in the U.S. Solicitor General’s office, he argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and briefed hundreds of others. He is a fellow with the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of the Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group Executive Committee for the Federalist Society. Additionally, he clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when he sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Bash received an undergraduate degree from Harvard College, graduating summa cum laude, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude.

Mark Stone, Ph.D. of Bryan is the CIO for The Texas A&M University System. He is a member of The Texas Society of CPAs and Information Technology Council for Higher Education and board member of Training Leaders International, To Every Tribe, and the Lonestar Education and Research Network. Additionally, he is an elder for New Life Baptist Church and an adjunct professor for Spurgeon College. Stone received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy in Ethics from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dean Teffer, Ph.D. of Austin is a cybersecurity expert, most recently serving as vice president of IronNet Cybersecurity. He is co-chair and an AI Policy Subcommittee member for The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – USA. He is an assistant coach for Town and Country Sports and a volunteer for the Balcones Country Club Sharks. Teffer received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Tulane University and a Master of Science in Physics and a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Angela Wilkins, Ph.D. of Houston is the executive director at Rice University's Ken Kennedy Institute. She advises several companies on the application of AI. With over a decade at Baylor College of Medicine, she has specialized at the intersection of AI and health and is the founder of an AI company. She is a board member of the Alliance for AI in Healthcare and a contributor to the Life Sciences Advisory Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership. Wilkins received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Northern Colorado and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theoretical Physics from Lehigh University.