BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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The City of New Westminster has established an AI working group to tackle the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.
City council recently received a report outlining the work staff have done to date on the development of appropriate AI usage guidelines and upcoming work.
The July 13 report said publicly available Generative AI (GenAI) platforms have “surged” in popularity since emerging in late 2022 and 2023. It stated there are now more than 15,000 GenAI platform and tools available online, with new tools being launched daily.
“At this time, the city does not possess the specific tools that would allow for meaningful, detailed reporting on the use of GenAI platforms by city staff, contractors, volunteers and students,” said the report. “Some high-level insights have informed the IT department that some staff are utilizing various GenAI tools using corporate devices, however, detailed reporting is not possible at this time.”
Staff say it’s become difficult to avoid interacting with certain AI prompts because many internet search platforms have incorporated large language models and direct conversational responses into their standard search planforms.
“This will increasingly be the case as Google and other organizations further integrate advanced AI models into traditional web searches,” said the report. “In addition to online AI platforms, software vendors are increasingly building AI features into applications installed locally on workstation computers, such as the Adobe suite.”
The report highlighted a few of the “numerous risks” associated with the use of Generative AI models. These include:
· Data privacy concerns
· Compliance and regulatory violations
· Misinformation and disinformation
· Cyber security impact
· AI bias and discrimination (Generative AI models learn from the data on which they are trained)
To mitigate risks associated with AI, city staff have developed and published a set of guidelines for staff, contractors, volunteers and anyone working on behalf of the city, including mayor and council. These guidelines are designed to:
· Enhance productivity by using GenAI tools safely and in a way that benefits the community
· Ensure compliance with all applicable policies and laws
· Protect personal or confidential information in the custody and control of the city
· Mitigate reputational, legal and operational risks
“While the guidelines are an important first step, further work is needed to improve awareness and understanding of the risks and how to mitigate them, to ensure compliance and to protect the city’s assets from the various risks that have been identified,” stated the report. “As part of this work, the IT department has been researching various software tools that provide sophisticated levels of protection against these risks and that also provide detailed usage reporting.”
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa asked if it would be considered a breach of closed information if a councillor or staff member put information from a closed meeting or report into an AI model.
Natalie Froehlich, the city’s director of finance, confirmed it would be a breach,” based on the city’s guidelines.
Nakagawa said it’s “really important” for the city officials to be aware of that, as people use AI for a number of purposes.
Nakagawa said Generative AI “has huge climate and environmental impacts” and that’s something she’d like the working group to consider as it continues its work.
“I think there is good guidance there for staff, for example, that it should supplement, not replace judgement, etc.,” she said. “I would also like a consideration of whether or not it is necessary, given its huge water usage and electrical usage. People are using this, no doubt; I think using it responsibly is acknowledging that, even though we cannot see it, every time that we use Generative AI it is gobbling up resources.”
Citing issues such as accuracy, professional judgment and originality, Coun. Tasha Henderson said she believes it’s important that council members’ comments to residents be in their own words and not written by AI.
“As elected officials, I think there is an expectation that we are sharing our own unique thoughts,” she said. “So, I have a disclaimer on my (email) signature now to let residents know that I never use AI in any of my emails back, social media, written remarks in chambers, anything like that. And I would encourage that same transparency with my council colleagues here, just in terms of letting folks know when and when they don’t use AI in our comments as councillors.”
Mayor Patrick Johnstone said he hasn’t personally taken the time to use AI tools, but he uses various online programs like Word, Adobe and Excel. While council members are aware that they aren’t to store information from closed meetings on computers that don’t belong to the city, he suggested council may need some further training given the changes in technology.
Johnstone suggested staff may want to consider providing training to council about AI, perhaps as part of council’s training after the fall election.
“I think we are heading into areas that are really difficult for a lot of people to understand where the lines are.”
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