As governments turn to AI to improve efficiency, the city of South Bend says it’s ahead of the pack for communities its size. Chief Innovation Officer Denise Riedl recently gave an update to the common council’s Information and Technology Committee.
"I would say, on the whole, South Bend does pretty well," Riedl said. "We were one of the first small cities in the country to deploy any kind of policy or governance document for our city, and we were one of the first small cities to roll out Copilot."
In South Bend, AI performs a variety of tasks, including assessing street and sidewalk segments and transcribing government meetings. It can also translate fliers without the need to reformat them, play the role of an angry resident while training employees in the city service center, and answer employees’ questions about policies without making them look through lengthy documents.
City employees are encouraged to think of the Copilot tool as an intern – it’s a very helpful tool, but don’t trust everything it says.
Riedl said AI is often framed as a way to save time and money, but the truth is more complicated. “AI saves us money on some things but will likely end up costing us new money on other things,” Riedl told committee members.
AI also raises ethical questions, especially when its use would replace a human worker. South Bend keeps an eye on what other cities are doing and makes regular updates to its A-I policies. It’s also worked with Notre Dame to develop an “ethical procurement framework.”
“Things like: What would be the impact on a potential business, if a service were to be replaced by AI? And then, also, was the product or service going to be procured at all or is this a new use entirely?” explained Patrick McGuire, South Bend’s director of civic innovation.
Riedl said the city’s current policies ban employees from using generative AI to replace an existing procurement, but she expects that to change in the future.
Going forward, South Bend continues looking at ways to roll out more AI tools. It’s currently a finalist for a million dollars from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge for a project it’s calling CARE – for Community AI Risk Estimator. McGuire said the goal is to identify problems and serve residents, before they even contact the city, about things like evictions and utility shutoffs.
“We would be able to use different data sources like their utility bills, even things like if their house had additional, like, code violations – maybe they’d stopped mowing the lawn, maybe their family was in crisis – different data sources that might point to a need for support,” McGuire said.
He said the concept may also be expanded to entire blocks or neighborhoods. South Bend is partnering with Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute on the project. The city is also looking at incorporating an AI voice chatbot into its 311 system.
During the meeting, South Bend Common Council members brainstormed ways AI could assist with their work, like helping with a quarterly newsletter or even creating a digital avatar that could interact with constituents. AI can also help with research. Riedl said if council members are interested in a particular topic, the Copilot tool can help them find ordinances that other communities have already adopted.
“You can say, ‘Hey Copilot, give me five examples of fair wage ordinances all across the U.S. and compare their enforcement, policies. Can you tell me when they were started?’” Riedl said.
Council members expressed interest in additional AI training specific to their office.
