CHATBOT USE
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has made dozens of document requests for artificial intelligence policies and chat logs from state agencies and local governments in the region this year, starting in March to mark Sunshine Week. This national, nonpartisan collaboration of journalists, civic educators, government officials and businesses highlights the need for open government and freedom of information. This story is one of several examining policies, AI use and compliance with public records laws at governments in the region.
Travel planning, policy research and generating a postcard are just a few of the services Google Gemini has provided Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly since the city’s adoption of AI tools.
All city employees have access to Gemini and a variety of its AI tools, according to Stephanie Cepak, spokesperson for the Kelly administration. Chattanooga opted to integrate Gemini at no extra charge through its Google Workspace subscription over a year ago, Cepak said by email, and then city administrators deployed a variety of trainings on how best to use it.
“Generative AI is a tool,” the city’s 2025 guidelines for employees say. “We are responsible for the outcomes of our tools. For example, if autocorrect unintentionally changes a word, changing the meaning of something we wrote, we are still responsible for the text. Technology enables our work. It does not excuse our judgment or accountability.”
The city’s AI policy is one of just a handful among dozens of governments and public agencies in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. It prohibits AI usage for fully automated decisions, meaning all AI-produced work needs human oversight. It also bans other cases in which AI would be used to identify people or analyze their emotions.