Riverside has created a three-member City Council working group to spend 13 months developing a strategy for using artificial intelligence in city operations, coordinating with other agencies and preparing the local economy for change, the city announced September 16.
The City Council Working Group on Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Policy is made up of Councilmembers Steven Robillard, Philip Falcone and Steve Hemenway. Robillard, who recommended creating it, said the group likely will meet once a month.
The group is to produce what the city calls an AI Strategic Framework. According to the city’s release, it will take up:
- policies for ethical, safe and transparent use of AI;
- how to use AI in economic and workforce development, including innovation, business attraction and workforce readiness;
- critical infrastructure and land use, including resource needs for data centers, high-capacity electrical grids and water-cooling demands;
- cybersecurity and data privacy;
- partnerships with regional institutions on digital literacy and the local economy.
Chief Innovation Officer George Khalil wrote in a report to the council that AI presents “substantial opportunities” to improve city services, the release says. The release adds that AI also raises policy considerations on transparency, ethical standards, cybersecurity and data privacy.
Robillard said he does not want to start from a position that AI is either good or bad. He said the goal is to bring in experts, ask difficult questions and learn from what other cities and institutions are doing.
The release announces the group and what it is to study. It does not announce an adopted citywide AI policy or a vote tally, and it does not give a date for the group’s first meeting.