City of Austin to host first-ever AI Summit after fake call into council meeting
After an AI-generated call into an Austin City Council Meeting on November 7, staff will have the opportunity to receive new AI training.
AUSTIN (KXAN)—After an AI-generated call into an Austin City Council Meeting on Nov. 7, staff will have the opportunity to receive new Artificial Intelligence (AI) training.
District 2 Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes made the announcement on Tuesday. Fuentes said it'll be the first-ever AI Summit hosted by the city of Austin for its employees.
Fuentes has led discussions surrounding how to use AI responsibly. In February, she brought forth a resolution asking the city manager to create clear guidelines and expectations for how the city uses AI.
She condemned the AI-generated call into Thursday's meeting.
“One thing is certain, bot or not, council meetings are no place for hate or hateful speech. Our community deserves protected public spaces, and with the incident that occurred during our last city council meeting, it is apparent the City needs to do more to further transparency and accountability around the use of AI. I’m proud that the city, in response to legislation I passed earlier this year, will host its first-ever AI Summit for City employees next week. And although the state limits our ability to regulate the use of AI by third parties, we have to find opportunities to enhance safeguards for council meetings and other venues without creating barriers to our first amendment rights.” Vanessa Fuentes, Austin City Council, District 2
The free AI summit for city staff will be on Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
They'll be talking about digital transformation and leading through AI, enhancing security services with AI and how it's used for public sector innovation. There will also be a presentation on responsible AI for the City of Austin.
Grace Reader contributed to this report.
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