Fort St. John council finalizes 'inform, not replace' AI policy

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Left-right: Councillors Jim Lequiere, Tony Zabinsky, Trevor Bolin, Lilia Hansen, Gord Klassen, Sarah MacDougall and Byron Stewart. (City of Fort St. John)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John has decided all content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to inform, not replace, human decision-making.

During the City of Fort St. John council’s March 9th meeting, the city approved its official AI council policy.

“Artificial intelligence technologies are increasingly embedded in software, platforms and tools used by organizations to improve efficiency, support analysis and enhance service delivery,” the report stated.

“As AI capabilities continue to evolve, it’s important that the city establish clear policy direction to ensure that any use of AI aligns with public sector values, legislative requirements and [the] council’s expectations regarding accountability, transparency and trust.”

According to the policy, the city will use AI to “enhance operational efficiency, improve public services and support evidence-based decision-making.”

It says AI tools will be used to support, rather than replace, human decision-making, and all decisions, recommendations or actions informed by AI are the responsibility of “qualified city personnel.”

“AI is a support tool only and shall never make or approve final decisions on behalf of the city,” the report noted.

All AI-generated content will be treated as draft content, not a final product or authority, and the outputs will be seen as a “starting point,” rather than a final source.