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Seattle IT briefs council on citywide AI use, governance and pilots
Summary
Seattle IT presented its Q2 AI usage report, describing a four-step review process for AI pilots, current pilots and tools in use, partnerships with universities and community groups, workforce upskilling, and Innovation Fund allocations for pilot projects and permitting improvements.
Seattle's Chief Technology Officer and City AI officer briefed the Governance & Utilities Committee on the city's Q2 AI usage report on July 29, outlining governance, pilots, partnerships and next steps.
Shannon Smith (CTO) said the city's responsible-AI program emphasizes equity, security, community engagement and staff upskilling. "The responsible AI program is really to uphold the city's commitments," Smith said. Lisa Chan, the City AI officer, described a mandatory review process for AI pilots: an initial business-justification review by the AI officer, an architecture assessment, a cybersecurity review and a privacy review that includes bias and environmental-impact considerations.
Staff reported 21 approved tools in active use, 5 pilots underway and several proofs of concept. Examples included permitting prescreening pilots that reduced intake-screening times by up to 46 days, an internal Copilot chat pilot that participating employees said saved an average 2.5 hours per week, and pilots that showed promising efficiency gains but raised maintenance and staffing costs if scaled.
Will Smith (chief of staff) described partnerships with the University of Washington and community organizations, and staff explained that the council's Innovation Fund has provided $400,000 for pilots as well as two permitting-related allocations (each about $750,000) to advance permitting tools and process improvements. Council members asked for follow-up briefings on public-safety uses and on AI-assisted translation for multilingual communications. IT staff offered to schedule department-specific briefings and to return with additional detail in later quarterly reports.
