The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday to approve a new policy that regulates how county employees, volunteers and contractors use AI tools for county business.
The new policy, developed by the county’s Information Technology Department, lists acceptable AI uses like writing emails, creating artwork and automating processes.
Daniel Milei, the Information Technology Director for San Luis Obispo County, says AI tools have potential to increase efficiency by performing tasks like connecting data sets across different departments.
However, he says his priority is securing private data.
“Our number one goal is to protect the communities, the citizens’ information,” Milei said. “Financial, healthcare, criminal justice, that's number one.”
SLO county had broad guidelines on AI before, but they weren’t enforceable if employees or contractors violated them, Milei says.
The new policy says that workers are responsible for making sure AI-made content is accurate and not plagiarized.
According to the proposed policy, the new technology shouldn’t be used in hiring or employee performance management, because “AI technologies may produce biased or discriminatory results…”
Each county department will have to create a list of confidential information that shouldn’t be shared with AI tools under the new policy. Those lists could potentially include social security numbers, criminal history or medical information.
The policy also says that SLO County’s Information Technology Department is working with other departments to buy or develop AI software with security features like encryption or local storage that can be used with confidential information.
Since the rollout of software like ChatGPT, cities and counties have had to grapple with what role AI should play in local government.
Earlier this month, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson paused the adoption of Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot by city employees.
The Berkeley City Council also approved 10 guidelines for how the city should use AI, including “put residents first” and “certify ethical use.”
