The April 21st Grand County Commission meeting introduced a strategic vision to streamline county processes through the use of artificial intelligence.
“Establishing a Vision for an AI-Enabled Grand County,” according to the March 31 document.Tasks that can leverage AI to streamline administrative processes include drafting, scheduling, data analysis, operational efficiency, knowledge management, financial efficiency, and more.
AI systems are also being considered to create publicly available interfaces where people can access information such as construction applications, business requirements, county regulations, and other government requests.
“This document establishes a formal strategic framework for the systematic integration of artificial intelligence across Grand County government operations.” “The main directive is to strengthen the professional competence of city employees and protect technical precision in providing services to both citizens and visitors.
“While remaining rooted in Western values of stewardship, transparency, and human-centered service, Grand County will leverage artificial intelligence to empower our workforce, modernize our public services, improve the quality of life for all residents, and lead the way as a model for rural innovation.”
The pillars of this vision focus on staff empowerment, knowledge management, and professional development, all geared toward “process modernization” featuring streamlined workflows, enhanced data insights, and standardized compliance monitoring.
“As AI capabilities evolve, so will governance, but it’s important to have a framework in place.”
Thomas Johnson, Grand County Chief Information Security Officer
The document states that the AI strategy “aims to minimize administrative burden in order to facilitate the optimized delivery of public services, and the primary purpose of the introduction of these technologies is to augment and strengthen staff capabilities, rather than redeploy them.”
Individual offices and departments have been directed to conduct assessments on the strategic application of AI to optimize internal workflows, “thereby increasing operational and financial efficiency while reducing headcount expansion requirements,” according to the document.
Government agencies are also being asked to integrate AI into the systematic analysis of operational data, with formal mandates to deploy AI to monitor and verify standard operating procedures and legal requirements.
Additionally, the county plans to leverage AI to serve residents and visitors through an AI-assisted interface with multilingual translation, easily searchable public documents and meeting records, and the integration of public datasets.
“This initiative prioritizes procedural integrity over punitive measures for deviations and aims to ensure systematic consistency of all operational workflows through supportive quality control mechanisms,” the document states.
The document states that to maintain public trust, the use of AI will be governed by human oversight, compliance, privacy, and technical audits.
“The path forward”
In the final section of the AI vision, titled “The Path Forward,” the board commits to establishing an “AI Innovation Working Group” comprised of county department heads, elected officials, and IT experts.
“This group shall incorporate regular community consultation and feedback mechanisms to identify ‘low-risk, high-impact’ pilot projects for fiscal year 2027.”
Thomas Johnson, Grand County’s chief information security officer, said artificial intelligence cannot be used for decision-making at this time.
Current county policies as outlined in the Grand County Information Security Manual Thomas said most generative AI could be used to assist with tasks and other applications, with the exception of “personally identifiable information, criminal justice information, protected health information, credit card information, personal financial information, or any information that is classified as sensitive.”
The use of AI tools is also bound by consumer protections regarding artificial intelligence. A bill to be passed by the Colorado General Assembly in 2024.
As we explore AI applications, Grand County’s administrative processes are being moved from Microsoft Office to Google Workspace. This is because Google is extending protections to ensure that information processed by counties is not used to train Google’s AI models.
To begin this process, a grant was awarded to the county through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and a request for proposals was created to find an agency with artificial intelligence expertise to lead innovation and development of AI applications for the county.
Thomas said the request for proposals received far more responses than other requests for proposals he has overseen, with more than 30 agencies applying to help develop and implement Grand County’s AI applications. The number has been narrowed down to three agencies, and interviews are underway to determine which agency best fits Grand County’s development plans.
District 3 Commissioner Randy George believes the integration of AI tools is important.
“We want to take advantage of the AI tools that are becoming available to free up time for human intelligence to do other things,” he said.
Both George and Johnson emphasized the need for humans to oversee both the front and back ends of the processes performed by these tools, although certain tasks can be automated to save time and cost. Training on the responsible use of AI will be provided to county employees to promote awareness of generative AI, security and privacy guidelines, cybersecurity, and general AI.
“AI capabilities are evolving and so is governance, but it’s important to have a framework in place,” Thomas says.
He praised the “cautiously optimistic approach” and believes the board’s proposed strategic vision opens the door to exploration of AI tools and public input on how the county should use these tools.
“AI needs better governance,” Thomas said. “If it’s not in the county’s interest, the county won’t participate.”
To help shape the county’s future use of artificial intelligence, contact the Grand County Administrative Office or participate in the board’s public comment period every Tuesday morning.
Sky-Hi News Editor Sean McAlindin contributed to this report.
