Kildare County Council’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) has recently come under intense scrutiny.
At a recent meeting of Kildare County Council, Chief Constable Rob Power warned against relying on a national framework for the use of AI that, in his view, may not recognize the potential benefits of AI technology. This comes after the city council said it had not developed a separate regional strategy for the use of AI.
Fianna Fail councilor for Newbridge tabled a motion at the meeting proposing that the council “investigate the potential for the introduction of AI in public service strategy and pilot projects”.
Cllr Power added: “The strategy and pilot projects must ensure that AI is used to improve, not replace, the human services people receive from councils.”
Cllr Power is currently a Business Development Manager at Klarna, a Swedish financial technology company and digital bank. In 2024, the company announced that its AI assistants will manage two-thirds of customer service calls, “doing the same job as 700 full-time agents.”
According to the councilor’s personal website, before entering politics, he “built a career at the forefront of the technology sector, spending seven years leading a sales team at one of the world’s most influential social media companies (Twitter), before moving into an international business development role.”
The Treasurer, Eileen Hanlon, released the council’s report in response to CLR Power’s motion, and said local authorities’ current approach was to work with government strategies and frameworks on the use of AI, rather than developing separate local strategies.
Mr Hanlon’s report said the framework would provide direction to councils by establishing requirements around principles such as fairness, data protection, transparency and appropriate oversight. The report further detailed that the city council already has a mandatory AI policy in place for staff to ensure AI is used safely and appropriately.
The report said the council was “building organizational capacity, including a trial of Microsoft Copilot involving more than 150 staff.”
The council is developing several AI pilot projects, primarily aimed at improving the way it works internally and increasing the efficiency of its services.
The City Council is promoting AI adoption and awareness in the county through initiatives run by the City’s Digital Program Office and local libraries. Local governments are also helping businesses understand and adopt AI through their Local Enterprise Offices.
The council supports the principle that technology “should be used to improve, not replace, services provided to the public.”
Cllr Power welcomed the report and said he wanted a “progressive” stance on AI. He said he was wary of national frameworks that may not recognize the potential benefits of AI.
Cllr Power’s colleague, Newbridge councilor Chris Pender, expressed support for the motion while addressing the meeting.
Also at the meeting, Hanlon said the council would report further information on the use of AI to elected members at the end of the year.
