Last week, I had an opportunity to interview Ms. Leila Doty, a privacy and AI analyst for the City of San Jose, who is also one of the founding members of the Government of AI Coalition (GovAI Coalition), which is dedicated to promoting responsible and purposeful AI use in the public sector. Ms. Doty shared the following insights into the GovAI Coalition’s work and San Jose city’s approach to Responsible and Purposeful AI:

Government AI Coalition

Ms. Doty discussed the GovAI Coalition’s inception, its collaborative operations, and the impactful work it is doing to promote responsible AI use in the public sector. The GovAI Coalition began with just 30 agencies in November 2023 and is now a collaborative network of over 600 local, state and federal government agencies.

One of the primary reasons for the founding of the GovAI Coalition was to address a critical gap in vendor transparency. Many AI companies refused to disclose information about their systems, including training data and model performance. The City of San Jose introduced the AI Fact Sheet and required vendors to disclose this information. When the city faced resistance from companies, it formed the GovAI Coalition to collectively push for transparency. Since then, the coalition has seen successes with many companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, filling out the AI Fact Sheet.

Building on top of this initial success, the coalition continues to harness AI to enhance government services while safeguarding communities against its potential risks. Its core commitments include ensuring ethical AI governance, promoting vendor accountability, improving government services, fostering cross-agency collaboration, and using AI for social good.

Ms. Doty also noted that while the City of San Jose was the main founding member and continues to facilitate the GovAI Coalition, the coalition board includes members from various cities and state departments. These government officials are passionate about responsible AI and the coalition provides them an excellent network to engage and collaborate.

Defining Purposeful AI

One of the most interesting takeaways from my conversation was the definition of purposeful AI. Instead of simply asking “How can we use AI to solve this problem?”, the coalition emphasizes asking “Should AI be used at all?” This reflects a growing awareness of techno-solutionism, the belief that technology is always the answer. 

Instead of instinctively relying on algorithms, the coalition promotes introspection, ensuring that AI is deployed only when it genuinely improves public services without introducing unnecessary risks. The GovAI Coalition has a template for an AI policy that lays out guiding principles constituting responsible and purposeful AI, roles and responsibilities to enforce the policy, procedures to sunset and address violations.

Public Procurement Process

Ms. Doty shared additional details regarding the procurement process. The city needs to take standards into account when deciding whether to purchase goods and services from vendors. The vendor agreement template includes standard contractual clauses around accuracy and the agency’s right to audit the system. Vendors must maintain an up-to-date version of the fact sheet and report significant changes.

Public Feedback and Concerns

While the coalition primarily involves government, industry, and civil society officials, the City of San Jose values general public input. The city has policies up for public comment and conducts in-person public engagement sessions, prioritizing historically unheard community members. Ms. Doty shared her excitement about the work her team is doing to promote civic engagement. 

Her team proactively reaches out to community organizations to provide AI 101 crash courses and also teaches residents how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to draft letters to city officials in their native languages. This inclusive approach ensures that AI does not become a barrier but rather a tool for empowerment for people.

Advice for Other Agencies

Ms. Doty advised other cities to join the GovAI Coalition and use its resources. She offered the following key points:

• Government agencies should define their AI values first and define clear red lines based on their own mission and ethical considerations.
• It’s also important to identify an AI champion within the organization. Even if they are not initially an expert, they can learn and establish accountability for the agency.
• Instead of starting from scratch, agencies can use GovAI Coalition templates for AI policies, vendor agreements, and procurement standards.

As AI becomes more embedded in government decision-making, transparency, accountability, and fairness must remain at the forefront. The rapid growth of the GovAI Coalition highlights the urgent need for ethical AI governance across all levels of government. I am excited to see how the GovAI Coalition is helping set new standards for AI adoption and regulation in the public sector.