The policy adopted Wednesday, July 15, is meant to help Wasatch County staff navigate the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence.
Don Wood is the county’s information technology director.
“The guiding principles behind this policy are basically to encourage our employees to learn, use, and explore, to protect privacy, to maintain human accountability and work towards fairness and transparency,” he said.
Employees can use approved AI tools that meet government privacy standards if the county has a subscription. Staff must disclose how AI is used in their work.
The county will avoid free tools and programs that store data outside the U.S.
Wood said government employees need to keep public records rules and other privacy issues in mind when using AI.
It will be up to humans to ensure AI is used fairly, especially when it comes to bias or hallucinations – when the tool produces incorrect information.
“If there are any biases in the data that we can account for, we place that responsibility on the employee to ensure that they take that into account,” Wood said.
He said employees will receive regular AI training to help them use it responsibly.
Wasatch County councilmembers unanimously approved the policy.
