Mission adopts policy for artificial intelligence usage in city business
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MISSION — The city council here unanimously adopted a policy regarding artificial intelligence usage in municipal business.
Back in August, Co-Interim City Manager Andy Garcia previously explained how the city was planning to integrate AI in everyday processes as well as a plan to develop a usage policy. He had previously told the council during a budget workshop meeting that the city was going to use AI to help reduce cost.
Nonetheless, now that policy is officially adopted through the resolution approved Tuesday, which is meant to establish guidelines for “the responsible, secure, ethical, and lawful use of artificial intelligence.”
State and local governmental bodies are able to implement AI into their everyday operations due to legislation passed during the 89th Texas Legislature session, specifically Senate Bill 1964 and House Bill 3512. The former relates to the regulation and use of AI systems and the management of data by governmental entities, while the latter relates to AI training programs.
Mission’s new policy will apply to city employees, elected and appointed officials, interns and volunteers conducting city business. Those who use AI are responsible for reviewing and verifying the resulting work.
“The level of human review should increase with the significance of the activity and potential consequences of an error,” the policy stated. “AI shall not replace professional judgment where professional, legal, medical, engineering, accounting, public-safety, or other specialized judgment is required.”
The city will provide and require state-required AI awareness training and city practical AI-use training.
Additionally, the policy directs the city manager to designate an employee to serve as an AI Risk Officer — a role that will coordinate with the IT director and relevant departments to promote ethical AI procurement, development, deployment and use as well as administering the city’s process for identifying and inventorying Heightened Scrutiny AI systems.
A Heightened Scrutiny AI system is intended to autonomously make a consequential decision — which refers to a decision having a material, legal or similarly significant effect on the provision, denial or conditions of a person’s access to a government service — or serve as a controlling factor in making a consequential decision.
If individuals find an AI-assisted consequential decision unfair, the city will provide a point of contact either through an email address, online form or other designated contact method. Moreover, the city manager or designee will establish internal procedures for reviewing, routing and addressing those requests.
AI tools are permitted to be used in city business for drafting and editing; research and summarization; presentations and training materials; translation; spreadsheet formulas; data and trend analysis; operational reporting; planning; process improvement; document organization; and other appropriate municipal activities.
AI-assisted city work remains subject to applicable public information and records retention requirements.
The usage of AI — prompts, inputs, outputs, transcripts, assessments or related materials — will be retained or preserved when required by the applicable record-retention schedules, the Texas Public Information Act, a legal hold, litigation, an audit, an investigation or another applicable preservation requirement.
The policy will be reviewed periodically by the city manager or designee, in consultation with the city attorney and appropriate departments, to continue compliance with federal and state laws, the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) Artificial Intelligence Code of Ethics, cybersecurity standards and “emerging AI risks.”
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