An experiment with GovAI will end later this month for Shawano County.
Matt Hietpas, technology services director, said after using the program since January, the county won’t renew its contract for another six months.
“The use is there. It’s saved hours of time,” Hietpas told the executive committee last month. “Actually, Kyle (Waelchli) in zoning saved days on his ordinance changes, comparing them. But, yes, the interface just isn’t the greatest. I’ve had some hiccups with the interface.”
He added the biggest reason to not continue is the cost.
“I don’t see the need for everybody, every user account in Shawano County, needing it, or even the majority of them,” he said. “We will end up paying more if we go with this solution compared to if we would just go with a license per individual user.”
The cost for each six-month period in the pilot stage is $9,500. After that, time would be an annual expense incorporated into the county budget.
Hietpas said department heads were in agreement to go with a different solution that charges per user.
AI can benefit the public through interactions such as calls to government offices and chatboxes on the website, while also benefiting employees through the use of data gathering, data management, analytics, resource planning, real time data-driven insights and drafting documents.
Examples include a sheriff’s deputy using AI to review body camera and dash camera footage to create incident reports, or officials analyzing documents for duplicate information or cross-referencing.
All AI-created documents still need to be reviewed by staff to ensure accuracy.
Hietpas pointed out that no AI program, including the commonly used Copilot and ChatGPT, are error-free.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
