Santa Clara officials said they’ve used ChatGPT at two public meetings, sparking concerns about the use of artificial intelligence to inform decision makers.
Artificial intelligence tools have been growing in popularity as cities like San Jose use it to improve road safety or translate public meetings. But the technology is still plagued with misinformation problems, prompting questions about how elected officials can use AI responsibly — especially in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Santa Clara Councilmember Kelly Cox acknowledged using ChatGPT to look for possible holes in legal contracts regarding the FIFA 2026 World Cup games at a Feb. 11 meeting. Mayor Lisa Gillmor said she “loved” ChatGPT when she used it to research possible competitors to merchandiser Fanatics during a March 11 meeting.
Gillmor and Cox did not respond to requests for comment.
Councilmember Kevin Park, who has worked as an engineer in multiple AI companies for the past decade, said most people don’t understand how AI technologies work. He cautioned against governments partnering with AI companies, who are more interested in selling the technology than protecting the public. If an official doesn’t know enough about a subject to determine whether AI’s response is accurate, the person could make a decision based on false information.
“AI is not trying to answer the question, AI is going to try to give you the most likely response and the most likely response really depends on how it was trained,” Park told San José Spotlight.
Some of his colleagues are less worried about the use of AI tools during public meetings. Councilmember Suds Jain said he likens ChatGPT to searching on Google, which he does sometimes during meetings or public discussions to get more information.
“I firmly believe the world is moving in this direction, that we have these AI assistants that help us with almost everything,” Jain told San José Spotlight. “They’re huge productivity enhancers and I don’t think banning somebody from Googling at the dias is going to serve the public.”
Mindy Romero, director for the University of Southern California’s Center for Inclusive Democracy, said AI technologies are advancing fast, making conversations about responsibility and ethical implementation even more necessary.
Councilmembers usually receive official information from city employees, but can seek more information elsewhere, such as asking residents or doing their own research online. When officials use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Romero said they have to gauge how much they’re weighing it compared to other sources of information.
“If AI is used or other information sources are used, how much of that should be integrated into what staff is doing,” Romero told San José Spotlight. “Is it additive or is it replacement?”
Rich Robinson, a lawyer and political consultant, said it’s common for councilmembers to not fully rely on city staff and to do their own research, but emphasized AI tools cannot replace expert advice. He referred to a situation in 2023 when two lawyers were reprimanded for using AI to write a legal brief, and the AI cited six cases that didn’t exist.
“The fact is, when you’re talking about legal issues and things like that, you have to have evidence and you have to have data,” Robinson told San José Spotlight. “ChatGPT can be a secondary source I suppose, but you have to be able to back up whatever ChatGPT says. You can’t just take it at face value.”
Governments have been discussing how to responsibly use AI tools. San Jose brought together more than 250 public agencies last year to form the Government AI Coalition to further develop guardrails for using AI and implemented its own AI policies in 2023. Santa Clara is part of that coalition.
Santa Clara spokesperson Janine De la Vega said the city established its own AI best practices work group more than a year ago and expects to finalize a policy later this year.
“We are supportive of the appropriate use of AI in the workplace and are in the process of assessing appropriate protocols and safeguards as the technology develops,” De la Vega told San José Spotlight. “AI has and will continue to revolutionize our world.”
Each person has a different understanding of AI and some people are more tech savvy than others — including elected officials. Romero suggested officials could disclose to the public when they use AI for research, and said AI tools used in government need to be more scrutinized. Still, she cautioned against ignoring AI outright, as it could become a helpful tool if implemented thoughtfully.
“We’re talking about something enormously important, we’re talking about decisions to be made for the public good,” Romero told San José Spotlight. “I think we all want our decision makers to be using accurate and complete information.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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