Town of Wellesley officials plan to expand the use of artificial intelligence in town government with the goal of improving efficiency, data analysis, and public access to information while maintaining strong privacy security protections.
At a special committee meeting in August, Town Clerk Megan Jopp cited permitting, infrastructure planning, budget analysis and public engagement as areas where AI could play a larger role in the coming year.
According to Information Technology Director Brian DuPont, this effort will build on the technology already in use, rather than making a sudden, sweeping change. He highlighted the difference between “narrow” and “generative” AI technologies. Both are already being used by town officials and are part of Wellesley's plan to expand the use of AI in town government.
Narrow AI is a system designed to perform a specific task, like Siri or Google Maps, with no creativity beyond that area. Generative AI is a system that can create new content based on patterns in large data sets, such as ChatGPT.
“When most people think of AI, they think of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini,” DuPont said. “Town employees are already using tools like this to perform basic administrative functions such as summarizing email conversations, translating documents, creating job descriptions, and creating content for social media posts.”
“Over the past year or so, there has been an explosion in the market of limited AI technologies specifically designed to support local government functions,” DuPont continued. “Sometimes it's an entirely new product, and sometimes it's a new feature introduced to an existing system that the town is already using.”
Apart from basic administrative functions where town employees use generated AI, various departments in town use narrower AI to improve performance. According to DuPont, the Department of Public Works has demonstrated the use of an AI called Citilogix that analyzes high-resolution LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data and assesses the condition of road and sidewalk surfaces. Select Board uses Otter and ClerkMinutes to transcribe meetings and quickly create minutes for public distribution. As of September, the Transportation Commission is planning to use the AI tool “UrbanSDK'' to analyze traffic volume data such as pedestrian and bicycle safety and construction-related congestion.
There are also plans to incorporate AI into areas of town administration that were not mentioned at the Select Board meeting. DuPont noted that AI is playing a major role in cybersecurity for IT departments. “They are [AI tools] It helps us quickly analyze threats, prevent attacks, and respond to cyber incidents,” said DuPont.
While AI can help maintain proper cybersecurity, a concern with the expanded use of AI in Wellesley city government is protecting the privacy and security of the town's data.
“In the IT department, we use a combination of technical management, leadership, and education to address these issues,” DuPont said. “The appropriate use of AI technology and data security are topics covered in mandatory cybersecurity training for all municipal employees.”
DuPont also said that as the town considers various AI technologies for municipal use, it carefully analyzes tools “to ensure the added value outweighs the potential security risks and current or future costs.”
Mr. Jopp confirmed that all use of AI in Wellesley government complies with state and federal privacy laws. “There are only so many types of data that can be imported into an AI tool that is not in a closed system,” says Jopp.
As for how the use of AI will impact how Wellesley residents interact with the town, DuPont said the technology will play a more behind-the-scenes role, aside from customer service tools for citizens, such as a chatbot on the website.
“Our hope is that AI technology will be leveraged to help elected and town leaders make more informed decisions and increase operational efficiency,” DuPont said.
“Taxpayers ultimately have a say in the budget, but the tools chosen will be at the town's discretion,” Jopp said of how Wellesley residents are involved in decision-making around the town's use of AI.
This article was produced in collaboration with the Boston University School of Journalism.
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