Written By Jan Sims
MIDDLESEX CENTRE - Middlesex Centre has a new policy governing the use of Artificial Intelligence. At its July 2nd meeting, council approved a staff report dealing with how the technology can be used.
“AI is transforming private and public services, offering powerful tools for efficiency, data driven decision-making, and enhanced service delivery. Middlesex Centre is embracing AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT to maximize efficiency and improve services,” the report states.
Ward 5 Councillor Frank Berze acknowledged AI “helps you write something better”, but he went on to say “it’s not perfect by any means.”
Communications Manager, Heather Kepran assured council there are safeguards involved in the use if AI. “Where this policy is coming out of, is we have to be careful what we put into it because whatever we put into a public facing model becomes public information. So, you’ll see in the policy the focus is on two pieces. One is about managing that risk and protecting personal information which is important to us. The other piece is… we have to have a human hand in this process,” Kepran told council. “I liken it to we can take whatever used to take us three hours writing a report, it will write in three minutes. But you still have to spend 30 minutes reviewing and making sure the information is accurate. At the end of the day, the staff report is written by the person presenting it to you, and it’s not written by ChatGPT, so there’s still an onus on all of us to make sure the information is correct coming forward to council members and the public,” added Kepran.
The AI policy cites five key considerations. These include responsible use to improve municipal services, privacy, the fact that people are in charge, risk management, and public awareness.
The report said there will be costs associated with implementing the new policy in terms of staff training and the purchase of software, but states that “the effective use of AI is expected to improve efficiency, freeing staff resources for more complex tasks and offering positive financial implications.”
