BEND, OR -- Deschutes County staff have new rules for using artificial intelligence in their work. "AI is out there, it has been out there for a long time," says County IT Director Tania Mahood, "And yes, county employees are using it."

The new policy includes a training requirement for any county worker wanting to use generative AI. There are also privacy and security restrictions. And, perhaps most importantly, it mandates human verification to prevent bias and misinformation, "AI can be wrong. We recognize that and we understand it. But it can also be really helpful," says Mahood, "So I think, with our policy, it does say you have to review this content, once it gets generated. And you then take it and utilize it, you have to look at this; you have to review it. You have to validate that. So that is protecting us in the way of making sure that the content that comes out is actually going to be right, whether it was generated by AI to start with, what comes out and ends up - wherever that is; whether that's in an email, memo, whatever it is - that it is correct."

She tells KBND News it's important to create guardrails for new technology, "It is interesting and cool and innovative, and it might make you more efficient or be helpful in your role. But just make sure you're being safe and secure. I think the training's there, we've got curious people. I have not experienced any resistance. So, I think we're on the right path."

Mahood says it's hard to know just how widespread AI use is in county offices. So far, the only county-approved AI systems are ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot. She says the county is not yet using AI tools to interact with the public. If that is proposed in the future, she says there will be a public discussion and a revision to the policy.