Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect for government; it is here and already reshaping how public services are delivered, how decisions are made, and how residents’ personal data is collected and used. The question facing Dutchess County is not whether these technologies will become part of county government operations. The question is whether they will arrive with proper oversight, transparency, and accountability or whether they will simply show up one day in a vendor contract that nobody adequately scrutinized.

Tomorrow, I will introduce a resolution to establish the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Oversight Committee, known as AITOC, as a new standing committee of the Dutchess County Legislature. The resolution goes before the Government Services Committee.

AITOC would be charged with investigating and overseeing the use of artificial intelligence and related technologies across all branches and agencies of Dutchess County government, including executive branch departments, the offices of independently elected county officials, and county vendors and contractors. Its mandate includes protecting residents’ personal data and privacy, ensuring county workers have a voice in how these technologies affect their jobs and working conditions, reviewing AI-related contracts and procurements before they are entered into, and developing recommendations for a comprehensive county AI use policy for consideration by the full Legislature.

Importantly, AITOC is not an anti-technology body. When responsibly developed, procured, and deployed, AI and related technologies have real potential to make county government more efficient, more responsive, and better able to serve every Dutchess County resident. AITOC exists to make sure that potential is realized and that the risks are managed with full transparency and accountability to the public.

Watch my full remarks in the video.