Heber leaders were surprised to see an AI-generated video of the city manager at their annual retreat Thursday evening, Jan. 16.
“I’m an AI-generated avatar made in the image and likeness of your wonderful city manager, Matt Brower,” it said. “The future of local government must include artificial intelligence.”
Brower said as the city grows, he sees ways for AI to help the government operate more efficiently, from managing infrastructure and transportation to understanding community needs.
He showed an example of a chatbot that could be embedded in the city’s website to help locals find information about zoning, public works or other common questions.
Brower told city staff they shouldn’t be afraid to embrace the new technology, remembering all the changes his great-grandfather witnessed in his lifetime.
“For the first 40 years of his life, the primary means of transportation would have been horse and buggy,” he said. “He saw the advent of the automobile. He saw the advent of electricity. He saw the advent of the airplane, of the radio, of the television, of rocketry, of satellites.”
Brower said Heber can benefit from taking advantage of AI. In 2025, he plans to create guidelines for the city to use AI ethically and transparently.
“What I intend to do, Council, is to bring forth an AI policy that will, amongst many things, include issues regarding transparency, meaning where and how we deploy AI in the provision of services; two, privacy, making sure that private information remains private; and three, of course, accountability,” he said. “AI is not perfect, and we have to be aware of that.”
A formal artificial intelligence policy will be brought forward at a future city council meeting. That date hasn’t been announced yet.
