ROCK SPRINGS — The Rock Springs City Council approved a new Artificial Intelligence usage policy for the Rock Springs Housing Authority Tuesday night.
The policy allows AI usage in some circumstances but also limits usage with some tasks and prohibits usage in situations involving sensitive information. The system references the colors of a traffic light to dictate when and how certain tasks can utilize AI, with red light uses being prohibited. The housing authority wants to ensure AI use doesn’t cause it to adopt discriminatory practices and potentially violate the Fair Housing Act.
April Thompson, the Rock Springs Housing Authority’s housing and community resources supervisor, said the policy is a “clear, defining document” for the department’s staff when using AI tools. Councilor Rob Zotti said the policy is a guideline focused on “how to use and not abuse” AI tools.
“It’s clear and precise in what they can and can’t use it for,” Thompson said.
She said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines state there is potential for AI usage to lead to fair housing compliance issues. She said one of the policy’s sections mandates that human oversight is required to ensure an AI doesn’t discriminate against a housing applicant.
Thompson said nothing can be downloaded to department computers that hasn’t been approved by the city’s information technology department, though she also admits that HUD has only issued guidelines for AI usage, not a list of trusted AI tools.
However, Thompson calls the AI tools in use a timesaver for her small office, saying it has helped in several situations, citing instances where staff have had to write multiple infraction violation letters or build newsletters. She said it’s easier to input the information in an AI tool and have it completed over the course of a few minutes as opposed to using staff time to complete those tasks over the course of several hours.
“There are three people in my office, and that’s it currently,” she said.
The policy was approved, with Councilors David Thompson and Daniel Pedri abstaining from the vote.
