Questions about San Juan County’s new Generative AI Use Policy

San Juan County has adopted a policy governing the use of generative AI by County employees. It lists approved AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Grammarly, and Canva, and also includes tools such as Verkada security cameras with facial recognition and KnowBe4 AIDA that could be used for profiling. Residents deserve to understand what this policy means in practice.

Here are some questions to ask our candidates, County Council members, and other elected officials:

What problem is the County trying to solve? Which specific services or tasks require AI, and why can’t they be handled without it?

What will this cost taxpayers? Has the County calculated the full cost of licenses, training, security, monitoring, audits, maintenance, and dealing with errors or data breaches? How will it know whether AI actually saves money, particularly during the current budget crisis?

What information will these systems collect or process? What protections prevent residents’ personal information, tax records, court records, or other sensitive data from being exposed or misused?

What does approval of these tools authorize? What exactly will each application do? Is facial recognition currently in use, and if so, where, for what purposes, and under what restrictions?

Who is checking whether these systems work safely and accurately? Who audits their use, identifies bias or errors, and is responsible when something goes wrong?

Will the public see the audit results? The policy describes internal reporting but does not specify a public reporting schedule or public portal for AI audit findings. Will the County publish regular reports on which tools are used, what they cost, what they do, and what problems they cause?

Who will handle public-records requests about AI? The County has already cited staffing constraints in discontinuing the Sheriff’s weekly media-line report. How will it handle additional requests for AI-related records without compromising other public services?

What environmental costs have been considered? Has the County assessed the energy, water, resource use, and infrastructure required by these systems, and compared those costs with non-AI alternatives?

Can the County explain in precise detail how this policy will be enforced? Who is accountable for compliance, how often will the policy be reviewed, and what happens if an employee or vendor violates it?

Why adopt this policy now? Wouldn’t it be prudent to establish the actual need, full costs, environmental consequences, and public-accountability mechanisms before expanding the County’s use of AI?

These are questions about public spending, privacy, transparency, environmental responsibility, and the kind of community we want to live in. Please ask our candidates and elected officials for specific answers, not just assurances that AI will make County government more efficient.