Wellington North approves artificial intelligence use for government work
KENILWORTH – Artificial intelligence tools such as Microsoft’s Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT can now be used for government work in Wellington North.
A new township policy, approved by council at an Oct. 5 meeting, clears artificial intelligence for drafting reports and summarizing documents.
The policy covers employees, council and committee members, volunteers, contractors and consultants.
Microsoft Copilot is the township’s approved tool, however publicly available models can also be used by staff when information being entered is already public.
“Many of the software applications employees use today, including email, document management systems, search tools, and productivity platforms, now incorporate AI-powered features,” states a report from CAO Brooke Lambert.
Copilot is explicitly approved for drafting correspondence, reports, policies and presentations. It can be used to summarize document and meeting materials. And it can assist with research.
However, all information needs to be independently verified, according to the policy.
CAO Brooke Lambert told council the township is treating AI “as a valuable tool” while leaving staff responsible and accountable for its use.
Users must entirely review AI-generated content and verify facts, figures, dates, calculations and quotations before using the content.
“We would never look at AI as a means to replace that human review component,” Lambert said.
The policy specifically prohibits Copilot from being used to make decisions, such as spending, approving permits, hiring and disciplinary decisions, and conducting staff evaluations. Nor can AI summaries of documents informing “recommendations, decisions, approvals, voting, or actions” be relied on.
“Responsibility for township business decisions cannot be delegated to an AI tool,” the policy states.
AI use must also comply with freedom of information and privacy laws.
Councillor Steve McCabe said information needs to be “checked and rechecked” to ensure public information is complete.
A report to council from Lambert notes information returned by AI “may be inaccurate, incomplete, biased or outdated.”
Lambert also notes AI use raises concerns around privacy, security, records management and intellectual property.
Councillor Penny Renken said AI is “galloping ahead” and she welcomed the policy “to ensure that it’s going to be used properly.”
The policy will be reviewed annually.