Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey bans state employees from using certain AI technologies

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — No artificial intelligence programs will be permitted on phones or computers used by state employees, Gov. Kay Ivey has announced.

On Wednesday, Ivey sent a memo stating she banned the use of DeepSeek and Manus on state devices and the state network.

The memo was posted one day after the GenAI Task Force’s final report was released to the public. Ivey also banned “similar harmful technologies” to DeepSeek and Manus, which are based in China.

“When it comes to the threat posed by the Chinese government, Alabama takes no chances,” Ivey said in a statement. “Our citizens’ information must be protected in the strongest possible ways, which is why we are not only putting a ban on these two Chinese AI companies within our state government, but also safeguarding our state’s IT infrastructure from any foreign country of concern. Bad foreign actors have no sanctuary in the state of Alabama.”

Below is the GenAI Task Force’s final report

Below is the memo Ivey sent to state agency heads Wednesday: