Oakland is quietly incorporating AI into city work

"The AI craze sweeping the globe has already led many companies and industries to adopt artificial intelligence tools. Now, the city of Oakland is dipping its toes into what some are predicting will be the biggest technological shift in decades. For over a year, Oakland officials have been quietly exploring how to use AI to improve city services, and city staff have been working with a local university to come up with ideas, they told us. Meanwhile, some city workers are already using AI."

"Deputy City Administrator Joe DeVries told The Oaklandside that he and the city's IT director formed a working group to explore AI roughly a year and a half ago. Mindful of the risks, DeVries said the group, which included staff representatives from every department, began by developing interim security guidelines for using AI in city work. 'Clearly, there's a lot of fear and concern as a public agency,' said DeVries. 'We wanted to make sure we did it right.'"

Oakland officials have explored AI for over a year, working with a local university and forming a cross-departmental working group including the IT director and Deputy City Administrator. The group developed interim security guidelines and is mindful of risks. Officials plan to invite companies to pilot AI tools across departments, offering product feedback in exchange. A draft lists 30 potential use cases, including resident chatbots, body-camera footage scanning for investigations, finance software to prevent "revenue leakage," adoption-matching for animal services, fire-monitoring drones, and technologies for combing surveillance.

Read at The Oaklandside