Allegheny County blocks generative AI on its computers as it shapes up its approach to the tech; Technical.ly, July 30, 2024

Matt Petras &  PublicSource , Technical.ly; Allegheny County blocks generative AI on its computers as it shapes up its approach to the tech

"Both Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh have taken action to regulate their use of AI technology. 

For the county, it’s a work in progress starting with a pause on ChatGPT and similar programs; for the city, it involves creating internal guidelines informed both by Pitt Cyber’s research and a national coalition of municipal governments. 

Some cities across the country have made their guidelines public. Many of these guidelines focus solely on generative AI technologies.

Ethical discussion of AI shouldn’t ignore the risks posed by algorithms as the public focus shifts toward generative tools, said Beth Schwanke, executive director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security."

Public info, now: As county and city improve, the state stays lousy; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/6/16

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Public info, now: As county and city improve, the state stays lousy:

"County officials in recent days have rolled out new online tools to make certain types of public information more accessible.

Controller Chelsa Wagner on Thursday debuted alleghenycounty.opengov.com, which features graphs, charts and sortable data about spending, vendors, employees, salaries and benefits. She also introduced allegheny.openbookportal.com, providing instant access to contracts with vendors...

Local governments are getting better at providing basic financial and vendor information to the public, and some officials, such as city Controller Michael Lamb, take pride in providing easy access to public information...

Across the state, however, access to public documents is uneven, and obtaining anything beyond routine documents, such as annual budgets, often involves a cumbersome right-to-know process in which the government agency drags its feet and attempts to keep secret anything potentially embarrassing or controversial. Incremental progress on openness should be applauded, but it is important to remember that the larger battle is far from won."