As government employees increasingly use generative AI technology, Whatcom County introduced its first-ever generative AI policy in November. The three-page document creates guardrails as many cities in the state fight over the use of ChatGPT, Claude and other artificial intelligence tools used by their officials.
“I was shocked at how good this was,” said Steven Tapia, a distinguished practitioner at Seattle University School of Law.
The policy is based on two pillars of responsible use of generative AI: human verification and protection of sensitive information, explained Tapia, who teaches an AI law class.
“These are the foundations for really good AI use in industry, academia, and all sorts of fields,” Tapia said.
In a 2025 national survey of 300 state and local decision makers, nearly half said building public trust in government use of AI is a priority. The survey also found that 77% of these leaders are concerned about the lack of clear regulations and standards around the use of technology.
A Cascade PBS and KNKX investigation into the use of ChatGPT by Washington city employees found widespread use of the technology, including in writing letters from the mayor, social media posts, policy documents, grant application materials, and assisting with drafting. A subsequent investigation released on January 5th revealed that Bellingham employees used AI to adjust contract requirements to exclude certain vendors.
The county is feeling the need to provide guidance as officials increasingly ask when and how they can deploy the powerful, and sometimes problematic, technology, Whatcom County Deputy Executive Officer Allie Pennucci said on Dec. 8. (Pennucci has since joined Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's team as city budget director).
Pennucci said the policy is important because it helps staff think through the pros and cons of using technology on specific projects. The policy warned that AI could produce inaccurate information (often referred to as hallucinations) and that AI “could produce output based on stereotypes.”
The technology is powered by large language models trained on vast amounts of data to predict the most likely next word in a sequence. Although the model does not determine what is true or false, its answers are convincing and confident enough that users easily accept them as fact.
The county's policy establishes clear guidelines for when officials may request attribution from AI and requires all AI-generated content to be reviewed for accuracy. The policy also recognizes the energy and water costs associated with the large data centers on which the technology depends.
Nevertheless, the county encourages judicious use of AI.
“It can be a more efficient way to do work, and it's basically a more efficient way to use public resources,” Pennucci said. “There are many ways to introduce efficiency and how we process information and go about our daily lives.”
Employees are encouraged to check with their supervisor or manager for further clarification on whether a particular use of technology is reasonable, Pennucci explained. By early December, the executive team was close to finalizing initial training for leadership.
Tapia spoke more broadly about local government adoption of AI and sought to remind public servants that the technology lacks empathy.
“We choose people because we want them to be human,” Tapia said. “The technically correct answer is not necessarily the correct answer.”
Tapia also cautioned that policymakers need to consider human nature when considering creating such guardrails. “Human nature is always going to be that way, so I think some people are relying a little bit more on AI than they should, no matter what the policies say.”
AI policies only apply to employees within the executive branch. The Whatscom County Sheriff's Office currently does not have a policy. One of the company's detectives is currently under criminal investigation for distributing an AI-generated sexual video of a colleague, potentially crossing a legal line drawn by a law passed in 2024.
Isaac Stone Simonelli is a corporate/investigative reporter at CDN. Please contact isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com. 360-922-3090 ext. 127. For confidential information, please email isimonelli@proton.me.
