A number of problems with this response and even line of questioning

Firstly, AI is not the answer to anything. As a society, we have an overblown expectations of what AI will be able to deliver. This is mostly due to exaggerated hype from the snake oils salesman.

The major problem with the adoption of technology projects, is often these projects are almost fundamentally driven in a top down fashion, by people who actually never have a grasp of the technology in the first place, to fix problems that they are not always that familiar with.

Vast majority of these project are always conducted with a Big Bang final solution approach, which in almost all circumstances the technological solution is outdated by the time on the final implementation.

Again the fundamental problem in all of this is, is that centralized government thinking it can solve all problems with centralized planning!