During their annual winter meeting, members of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) Board of Directors were briefed on the potential impact that artificial intelligence technology could have on county governments. Members of the board discussed ways in which AI could improve county services and efficiency as well as the potential risks and need for strong guardrails and best practices.
The briefing was organized by NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario, who serves on the National Association of Counties’ AI Exploratory Committee, and Deloitte.
“This technology is here and we as county leaders need to be prepared to leverage its potential and mitigate the risks associated with it,” said NYSAC President Daniel P. McCoy. “The potential for AI tools to provide counties with game-changing insights in areas like budgeting and disaster response while also improving services for residents through improved translation and advanced chat and search features could revolutionize how we serve our communities.
“Local government leaders need to understand the potential that AI has to help local government serve their communities more effectively and efficiently,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario. “As the association representing New York’s county government leaders, we need to be on the forefront of this technology so that our members can harness its benefits while minimizing any potential negative impacts.”
Some counties across the nation are already using AI for tasks such as reviewing digital aerial imagery from planes and drones and identifying features requiring inventory, validation, field inspection, and disaster recovery. AI technology allows for extracting new and insightful information from these valuable aerial image assets.
The board discussed avenues for further deployment of the technology including using advanced chatbots, intuitive phone menu systems, improving search functionality and record keeping, and analyzing large quantities of public information.
Other functions discussed during the briefing were how AI can assist local governments through:
- Optimizing emergency response times by predicting the impact of disasters, suggesting evacuation routes, and helping coordinate rescue efforts,
- Automating the initial screening of job applications, saving time and ensuring fair and unbiased candidate selection,
- Automating routine administrative tasks, such as document processing, data entry, and scheduling,
- Optimizing waste collection schedules, reducing environmental impact, and improving overall waste management efficiency, and
- Monitoring and optimizing energy consumption in public buildings and infrastructure to reduce costs and environmental impact.
The NYSAC Fall Seminar conference featured a keynote presentation on AI from a representative from Palo Alto Networks and a workshop with experts from the National Association of Counties.
