Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell today announced a “responsible AI plan” that provides guidelines for the municipality’s use of artificial intelligence and its support of the AI tech sector as an economic driver.
“We have some of the most remarkable AI assets in the country and world right here in Seattle,” said Rob Lloyd, Seattle’s chief technology officer, in a GeekWire interview.
The city ranks second behind San Francisco for AI talent by some measures, and “if we’re very astute and very effective, Seattle is going to be very, very prosperous in this AI economy,” he added.
The new plan includes directions for AI training and skill-building opportunities for city employees, as well as a framework to facilitate and evaluate the use of AI tools in city operations.
Seattle has been a leader in creating guidance for AI use, and claims to be the first in the nation to issue a generative AI policy in the fall of 2023. Prior to today’s announcement, Seattle already had policies requiring “human-in-the-loop” oversight, where employees must review generative AI outputs before official use and attribute any AI-assisted work to the specific technology.
An investigative series published last month by Cascade PBS, a public news organization, found that multiple Washington cities have limited guardrails around AI use, raising public trust and privacy concerns.
Seattle policy also names AI applications that are prohibited for city operations, such as in hiring processes and facial recognition products, due to concerns about the tech’s performance and potential biases.
Seattle leaders said they’re trying to strike a balance that makes good use of the new technology, but doesn’t compromise their fundamental obligations in serving the public.
“We have big challenges related to homelessness, housing production, public safety, those types of things,” Lloyd said. “There’s a lot of things that we can do successfully using the [AI] tools, but trust is our first measure.”
Testing AI technologies
The city has identified 40 priority projects in which AI could potentially improve government performance and public services. Fifteen pilot partnerships have been launched so far. They include:
- A collaboration with startup CivCheck, announced in June, aims to expedite and streamline the building permitting process.
- The city is working with C3.ai, Microsoft and the Department of Transportation to analyze near-miss incidents on roadways to reduce accidents and fatalities.
- Chatbot technology from Gooey.ai and Rockefeller Center is being tested to improve customer service while providing support in 50 languages.
- A partnership with the University of Washington, Microsoft and Cloudforce taps into UW’s expertise to tackle the city’s priority challenges.
The project with CivCheck is “going quite well,” said Leah Tivoli, Seattle’s director of Innovation and Performance. The technology can scan thousands of permit applications for omissions and other issues that require resubmission, flagging common errors so they can be addressed and prevented. The city’s ultimate goal is to reduce permitting times by half.
The intention isn’t to replace city employees with technology — an approach that contrasts with tech leaders such as Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has cited AI efficiencies as enabling workforce reductions.
“We want to be responsive to where our employees are being overwhelmed, where the community has a lot of demand, and that is ground that we can cover, where AI can help us, but that isn’t displacive,” Lloyd said.
Other cities and local governments in Washington are likewise partnering with Seattle startups to deploy AI-supported services. Bellevue has a pilot with Govstream.ai to accelerate its permitting process. Aurelian is partnering with seven local governments that are using its voice technology to help 911 call centers respond to non-emergency calls.
Hackathon series launches
The updated AI initiative was shared by Harrell and his team ahead of a city-led Community Innovation Hackathon being held this afternoon at Pier 70’s AI House, a new startup hub partially funded by the city. The hackathon is the first in a series and aims to bring together entrepreneurs, engineers, students, city staff and others to brainstorm and develop solutions for pressing challenges.
Today’s event is the Youth Connector Hackathon and focused on strategies to better connect Seattle’s students with the city’s 15 youth programs, which offer mental health and other support services.
A hackathon tackling city permitting is scheduled for Oct. 9, while an event in early November will be a “reimagining” of the city’s customer service, Tivoli said.
“I’m really curious to see what solutions are cringy, what solutions are exciting, and really get their perspectives,” Tivoli said.
City leaders described the new plan, hackathons, and collaborations with groups such as AI House, AI2 Incubator (which is based at the AI House), investors, and tech companies as part of a broader push to support Seattle’s AI sector.
The city wants to help “activate” the AI ecosystem in Seattle and support new innovation, Lloyd said. “Because it doesn’t just happen organically,” he said. “People have to be good partners and intentional and purposeful in making sure that occurs.”
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