City of San José Page 1 October 25, 2024
City Council Meeting
Minutes
Study Session - City AI Initiatives and GovAI Coalition Summit Friday, October 25, 2024
9:00 A.M.
MATT MAHAN, MAYOR
ROSEMARY KAMEI, DISTRICT 1
SERGIO JIMENEZ, DISTRICT 2
OMAR TORRES, DISTRICT 3
DAVID COHEN, DISTRICT 4
PETER ORTIZ, DISTRICT 5
DEV DAVIS, DISTRICT 6
BIEN DOAN, DISTRICT 7
DOMINGO CANDELAS, DISTRICT 8
PAM FOLEY, DISTRICT 9
ARJUN BATRA, DISTRICT 10
City of San José Page 2 October 25, 2024
MINUTE
S OF THE CITY COUNCIL
STUDY SESSION - CITY AI INITIATIVES AND GOVAI COALITION SUMMIT SAN JO
SE, CALIFORNIA FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2024
The Council meeting was held in Council Chambers. The meeting convened at 9:05 a.m.
Present: Council Members - Mahan, Kamei, Jimenez, Cohen, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas, Foley, Batra, Davis (arrived at 9:15 a.m.)
Absent: Council Members - Torres.
Staff: City Manager, Jennifer Maguire; City Attorney, Nora Frimann; City Clerk, Toni Taber; and City Clerk’s Office, Daniel Aguilar.
Purpose: To provide the City Council with information regarding City initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI), the City’s community efforts for upskilling AI programs in collaboration w ith San José State University, national efforts through the GovAI Coalition, and the GovAI Coalition Summit occurring December 4 - 6, 2024, in Downtown San José.
Outcome: The City Council will establish a common understanding of the City’s role in AI for the public good and its ability to enhance government services.
Khaled T awfik, Chief Information Officer; Leila Doty, Privacy and AI Analyst; Namrata Batra Agrawal, Products & Projects Manager; Albert Gehami, Digital Privacy Officer; and Angela Zhao, Privacy and AI Analyst, offered the presentation and responded to questions.
1. Introduction
Mayor Matt Mahan introduced the Study Session topic, expressing excitement about recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and emphasizing the potential to transform business practices across various sectors. Mayor Mahan highlighted the importance of adopting these technologies responsibly to enhance community impact and improve City services, as well as acknowledging the unique advantage San José has in building a skilled team dedicated to technology for innovative public service delivery.
City of San José Page 3 October 25, 2024
2. What is AI?
The advancements of San José's AI coalition in positioning the city as a leader in AI innovation and responsible use were highlighted. The history of AI development was introduced, from early milestones like IBM's Deep Blue, to recent tools like ChatGPT, noting that each technological breakthrough has introduced risks, such as cybersecurity threats. The importance of learning from past challenges was emphasized; as well as establishing safety guidelines to ensure the effective and safe implementation of new technologies for the benefit of residents.
3. Laying the Foundation for Reasonable AI.
The risks associated with AI were discussed, emphasizing that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution and can lead to issues like racial discrimination and gender bias. Three key components of AI were presented - data, algorithms, and real-world applications - each of which introduces unique risks. To mitigate these, the City is developing a data governance policy to ensure representative and reliable training data, with the goal to promote equitable use of AI technologies.
4. Gaining Value from AI in the City.
The City of San José initially piloted AI technology to address vehicle violations, soon recognizing its potential for broader service requests; such as pothole and trash detection.
Aiming to enhance the efficiency of the city’s 311 system by enabling proactive issue detection, the need for manual reporting by residents was reduced. This demonstrated successful outcomes in detecting specific issues while adhering to privacy and equity standards outlined in the city's AI policy. The City is focusing on enhancing technology accuracy and implementing privacy protections to improve transportation safety, and to achieve seamless government services.
5. Support in AI from the City and Beyond.
The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has highlighted the urgent need for robust AI policies and skilled staff to ensure the safety and effectiveness of emerging technologies. In response, San José's IT department has focused on addressing challenges related to AI, digital privacy, data equity, and cybersecurity, benefiting from the city’s commitment to invest in these initiatives.
Recognizing the need for collaboration, the IT team formed a coalition with volunteers from various government agencies to unify AI expertise and promote responsible AI principles across the nation.
City of San José Page 4 October 25, 2024
6. Feedback
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei expressed excitement in San José’s leadership utilizing AI particularly with the San José 311 app, and the importance of demonstrating AI's value.
Councilmember Arjun Batra emphasized that AI will significantly impact all areas of life, and highlighted the importance of addressing privacy concerns while promoting a proactive and preventive approach to societal issues.
Councilmember Sergio Jimenez discussed concerns and presented questions regarding AI- generated content, emphasizing that the algorithms rely on existing data, which may be biased or skewed.
Councilmember Pam Foley raised questions regarding an understanding of who is creating AI content and how it is interpreted, particularly regarding biases. Emphases was placed on the importance of training staff to recognize potential biases.
7. Next Steps and Closing
Mayor Matt Mahan concluded the meeting with closing remarks.
PUBLIC COMMENT
1. James C
ampbell spoke to the potential of AI transforming education, civic engagement, employment practices, and public policy.
ADJOU
RNMENT
Mayor Matt Mahan adjourned the Study Session at 11:55 a.m.
Minut
es Recorded, Prepared, and Respectfully Submitted by,
Daniel Aguil ar,
Deputy City Clerk City of San José
Approved at Council on: 8/12/2025
# of Actions: 0
Attest By:
Toni Taber, MMC City Clerk,
City of San José