How one city is proactively managing AI use - and what local governments can learn from it

AI (artificial intelligence) had a big year last year. A topic once reserved for tech circles, it became a frequent news headline and a regular dinner table conversation piece. Governments across the world began shaping policies for AI. In the U.S., President Joe Biden enacted his executive order in October, which created several initiatives to promote transparency, safety and security. While this is likely just the beginning of more regulation to come, presently, local government agencies are more or less faced with creating their own nuanced approaches to AI policy.

While AI’s uses and implications are just being figured out, for local governments AI could create security issues because AI search becomes public, which can put sensitive information at risk (security protocols, etc.). And while some municipalities have banned AI outright for this reason, the city of Grove City, Ohio, is taking a different approach. They are creating a model for how other local governments can create and share an AI policy for safe and appropriate use.

Lay the groundwork
Grove City’s approach is grounded in proactive governance and risk mitigation. However, before creating an AI policy, the city first took a hard look at its policy management practices. At a high level, they wanted to ensure that employees had a clear understanding of acceptable conduct and performance from day one of their career journey. Upon review, the city realized it lacked formal policies for several aspects of employee conduct and performance. As a result, the city adopted a policy management system already utilized and proven by the Grove City Police Department, to lay the foundation, transfer its existing policies into the cloud, then establish new policies and add them into the mix, helping them to accomplish a more formalized sense of compliance and communication.

With this simple move, Grove City immediately added an enhanced layer of professionalism to its HR processes. When employees start their career at the city, they now have clear expectations and accountability for a wide range of policies, from the appropriate use of assets to the city’s drone policy. Employees acknowledge and sign off on these policies as well, so when the city must undergo an audit, it has a direct record of signatures to establish compliance.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, when a policy is updated or a new policy created to adapt to an evolving technology, Grove City has a simple, straightforward way to communicate with employees in real-time and ensure they have a comprehensive understanding of what the policy means for them.

Understand the nuances of new technology
According to a 2024 HR Trends report by NEOGOV released earlier this year, “operational efficiency is important for any organization, but especially for government agencies struggling with staffing shortages and high turnover. The majority of agencies say their operational efficiency, which is defined as the ability to deliver high-quality service at scale with few resources, is good (46 percent), and even excellent (10 percent). To improve these operational inefficiencies, agencies are turning to technology.”

AI is a good example of a technology that can be used to improve efficiencies, yet it also highlights why policy and systematic policy management is necessary. As a relatively new and rapidly evolving technology it is a welcome tool, especially when it comes to the HR function. It is clear that there are many advantages of AI, however for local governments, it is crucial to understand that there are also risks to consider.

Take ChatGPT. It is now one of the most widely used AI tools, according to Forbes. And with good reason. It has proven to be incredibly effective for many individuals and organizations, streamlining many otherwise tedious and time-consuming tasks. But using a tool like ChatGPT comes with inherent risk.

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