Calif. city employees warned ChatGPT use is a public record
SAN JOSE, Calif. — As widely popular artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT continue to creep into our lives, San Jose is one of the first major American cities to warn its employees about the reach of the new tool, releasing a host of strict guidelines for AI use.
The city is making one thing clear up front: Be careful what you do with this new-fangled gizmo.
Everything city workers search for and create within ChatGPT is subject to the California Public Records Act, city officials warn multiple times throughout the newly released 23-page document, meaning that any citizen can get a look at how San Jose employees are using the new AI program.
“Presume anything you submit could end up on the front page of a newspaper,” the July 20 memo states on its first page, adding, “Do not use any prompts that may include information not meant for public release.”
According to city officials, some employees already are using ChatGPT.
“We’ve (heard) folks have experimented with (AI) to assist with policies, job postings, and memo sections,” wrote Deputy City Manager Rob Lloyd in an emailed response to questions about the memo. “(There are) no documented examples, yet.”
The breakthrough technology has exploded into the mainstream in recent months, raising questions and concerns about the future of work and learning.
ChatGPT, known as “generative artificial intelligence,” is already being used to write school essays, worrying educators that the tool could dramatically alter how children learn to write and form thoughts. Others...