The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by local governments is a growing topic of discussion as high profile elected officials in other regions of B.C. have drawn criticism about their use of AI tools in their work.
The Discourse reached out to local governments and public organizations in the Cowichan Valley to understand what policies governing AI are already in place, if those policies are under development and how staff and elected officials are currently using artificial intelligence.
Some local governments are actively in the process of developing policies that regulate the use of AI internally, while others already have policies in place for employees.
North Cowichan, for example, has had an AI policy since 2024 and told The Discourse that some of its employees are actively using generative AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, for some tasks.
However, the extent to which AI is being used in the municipality is not fully clear, and a staff report detailing exactly what the municipality uses AI tools for is going to a committee of the whole meeting on June 9.
The Discourse also reached out to the Cowichan Valley School District and Vancouver Island Regional Library to learn about their AI policies but did not hear back in time for publication.
What is generative AI, and how does the provincial government use it?
Generative AI refers to a specific subset of machine learning where information technology is trained on large data sets of information to generate text, images, video, audio or code when prompted by a user. The technology “performs tasks that would ordinarily require biological brainpower to accomplish, such as making sense of spoken language, learning behaviours or solving problems,” according to the Government of Canada.
This technology includes a growing number of “chat bots” or large language models such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini and Claude.
Based on its training data, these systems generate content that is statistically likely to come next, like predicting the next word in a sentence.
The province of B.C. has six drafted guiding principles for how its employees can use generative AI.
A publicly available provincial policy says employees may put confidential information into generative AI tools that are available through the BC Public Service’s agreement with Microsoft, such as Copilot, an AI assistant that is integrated into Microsoft 365 apps and browsers including Word, Excel and Teams. However, employees cannot put any confidential information into publicly available AI tools like ChatGPT.
The policy also directs employees to review all outputs from AI tools to ensure they are factually accurate, complete and up to date. They must also edit any output text to ensure the language is inclusive and aligns with government writing standards and style guides.
Risks of AI use by governments
A 2023 report from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia outlined nine principles for the responsible and trustworthy use of generative AI technologies.
The report highlights that privacy of personal data is a primary concern for organizations using generative AI. It suggests that organizations should only use “generative AI tools that respect privacy laws and best practices,” to protect personal information.
Organizations should also, according to the report, “consider whether the use of a generative AI system is necessary and proportionate,” especially when it may have a significant impact on individuals or groups.
One group the report found most vulnerable to the negative impacts of generative AI is children.
“They may be less able than adults to identify or challenge biased or inaccurate information, or be more prone to having their agency limited by an AI that generates information based on a restricted world view,” the report reads.
Another principle highlighted by the report is openness. It says organizations should be transparent when a generative AI tool will be used as part of a decision-making process.
North Cowichan working to understand how AI is being used internally
The Municipality of North Cowichan does have a policy governing the use of AI that applies to all of its employees, according to Barb Floden. Employees have access to Microsoft Copilot and receive training on the municipality’s AI policy and responsible use.
The current policy does not have guidelines for external contractors’ use of AI while working for the municipality but North Cowichan spokesperson Barb Floden said the municipality is looking at adding these guidelines in a future update to the policy.
While the policy does apply to employees of North Cowichan, it does not apply to councillors.
“We would need to create a specific council policy for that,” Floden said.
North Cowichan’s Responsible Use of AI Systems policy prohibits employees from adding any personal or sensitive information as input into AI systems.
Employees are required to take “active steps to confirm the veracity and accuracy” of the output of an AI tool, especially in instances where council, municipal employees or the public are relying on the AI work product to inform decisions. The policy directly states that output from AI systems may include hallucinations — defined as false or inaccurate information — and be derived from inaccurate or untrue data and include unintended biases.
It also requires that employees get approval to use AI systems from the municipality’s director of IT and Business Solutions and the privacy officer.
According to the policy, staff may input personal or sensitive information into an AI system as long as it is in accordance with a privacy impact statement (PIA). However, a PIA is not needed if the AI system has already been approved as part of a software product the municipality licenses, such as Copilot.
The policy also outlines the need for an internal AI ethics committee to approve and provide input on any AI tool created by or for North Cowichan.
City of Duncan developing AI policy
he City of Duncan does not currently have a written AI policy, but one is under development according to Paige MacWilliam, the city’s director of corporate services.
“We have been reviewing other municipal AI policies, the Province of B.C.’s draft artificial intelligence responsible use principles and resources available through the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security,” she said.
Staff have also attended a workshop on AI use in local government to better understand AI and the opportunities and risks it may pose, MacWilliam said.
Some staff are already using AI in some situations to “support research and ideation, and to draft or refine communications,” according to MacWilliam.
When implemented, the goal of the new AI policy will address contractors’ use of AI when working on behalf of the city and the introduction of AI tools by vendors that the city uses, “a particular focus on privacy protection,” MacWilliam said.
The policy will also apply to city councillors who are already governed by a code of conduct and communications, but those do not currently include references to the use of AI.
Cowichan Valley Regional District to use AI for reports and research
The CVRD currently has a draft AI policy that is being reviewed internally and will apply to all staff, according to Tom Rothoehler the regional district’s manager of information technology.
The regional district has been using “industry best practices, internal expertise and examples of other local government policies” to develop the CVRD’s take on an AI policy, Rothoehler said.
Under the new policy, the regional district intends to have licenses for Microsoft Copilot.
“Use may include drafting communications and reports for subsequent human review, editing and clarity, improvements to writing and summarizing meetings (with consent) and ideation and research directions,” Rothoehler said.
Staff will also have access to training and education on AI tools once the policy is approved.
At this time, the regional district does not have any policies governing how area directors can use AI when representing the Cowichan Valley Regional district.
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