Artificial intelligence is a valuable tool for government agencies to automate routine tasks and perform data analysis, but recent calls for its regulation raise concerns about potential privacy and security concerns if this technology is not used responsibly. highlights the risks of
As the Biden administration rolls out recommendations for the proper use and development of AI frameworks and AI systems, local governments are beginning to draft their own policies.
For example, the National County Association announced late last month that it had created an AI Review Board to explore the intersections of AI and county policy and practice, workforce productivity, government services, privacy and security, and other factors.
“We are at a unique time in terms of artificial intelligence,” said Seamus Dowdal, NACo Deputy Legislative Director. As AI gains prominence, the committee plans to “explore new policies, practices, potential applications, rules and consequences of artificial intelligence.” [the] It’s the lens of the county government,” he said.
The commission’s 15 members include elected or appointed county officials, department heads and county state association staff, he said. Palm Beach County Commissioner Greg Weiss, Florida, and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Texas, co-chair.
The committee will work on issues such as determining appropriate use cases for AI and how AI can affect the security of data across the county and public trust in local government, the committee said. Dowdal said. “We have seen the federal government begin to consider the extent to which it approaches and leverages AI at the federal level … similar conversations are taking place at the state and county levels.”
Cities are also taking steps to use AI responsibly. For example, his IT department in Seattle recently issued an interim policy for city employees who want him to use generative AI like ChatGPT to streamline workflows and improve service delivery.
“We believe that the emergence of generative AI presents opportunities to help our service delivery, but also risks threatening our liability. …Our interim policy is , with the aim of minimizing the problems that may arise from the use of this technology.Additional research and analysis will be conducted,” the officials said in a May 31 statement announcing the adoption of the policy. said in
Under this policy, the city’s IT department must authorize employee access to or acquisition of new generative AI products. Employees are also required to verify information generated by AI systems, which can lead to false or misleading results. This means city officials must review AI output for accuracy, proper attribution, and biased or offensive content, officials said.
City of Seattle officials are also prohibited from supplying generative AI systems with “confidential or confidential data, including personally identifiable data about members of the public.” Experts warn that uploading code to generative AI systems could also weaken an organization’s ability to track and manage cyberthreats.
As a county, “we are, in a way, conveners of the community.” [and] Data aggregators in other ways – there are many different ways we are considering [AI]said Dowdal. “Using AI as a tool is one element of this conversation he has, but there’s actually a broader approach he’d like to take to think holistically about how AI is progressing. .”
