Fort Myers Boosts City Operations With ChatGPT

Fort Myers Taps into AI for Enhanced City Operations

The City of Fort Myers, Florida, is significantly expanding its use of ChatGPT, an advanced artificial intelligence technology, to streamline various municipal tasks and improve efficiency. This move follows a successful pilot program aimed at exploring the practical applications and benefits of AI in a city government setting.

Successful Pilot Program Paves the Way

Richard Calkins, the IT Director for the City of Fort Myers, spearheaded the initiative by launching a pilot program involving 30 city employees. "We worked with them and said, what would you use it for?" Calkins explained. Participants identified several time-consuming tasks, such as extensive report writing, where ChatGPT could offer assistance. Calkins even noted, "I had ChatGPT help me create the agenda item that purchased the enterprise upgrade to ChatGPT. Yeah. It was very excited to help me with that."

After a six-month testing period, the program was deemed a resounding success. "That saved our clerk's office a lot of hours and a lot of time," Calkins stated, highlighting one of the early wins from taking transcripts from public meetings. The AI's capability to quickly process information proved invaluable, for instance, in code analysis: "What would have probably taken a week to discover by going through lines of code, it told us where to look within minutes."

Significant Savings and Increased Productivity

The integration of ChatGPT is projected to save the city almost a million dollars annually. These savings are not from direct cost cuts but rather from increased productivity. "The money and saving is our teams can now do more during that same amount of time than they could in the past," Calkins emphasized. On average, "each individual saved about 10 hours a week," allowing them to focus on other critical tasks.

AI as a Tool: No Impact on City Jobs

A key aspect of Fort Myers' AI adoption strategy is the assurance that the technology will not lead to job displacement. "We don't want to use it to replace any staff. We don't want to use it to change anybody's job roles," Calkins affirmed. The city views AI as a tool to augment human capabilities, not to supplant them. "I think that's the intent of it."

Expanding AI Applications Across City Functions

The city is exploring diverse applications for AI beyond initial uses like report generation and policy statement grading. For example, Calkins mentioned using AI to assist with vehicle diagnostics: "You put all that, you know, diagnostics in today I you tell it what the problem is and it gives you things to look for, you know, check this relay. Maybe this part's bad."

Future Vision: Internal AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Looking ahead, Fort Myers plans to develop its own internal AI chatbots. "So, we can put all of our city documents into it and ask it questions," Calkins envisioned. This could create a powerful internal knowledge base. He also pointed to the potential for a virtual HR assistant by loading employee handbooks and HR records into an AI system, a trend seen in many large organizations. "If you can think of putting your employee handbook up there and all your HR records and all that kind of stuff, and you have a virtual HR assistant."

Commitment to Responsible AI and Human Oversight

While embracing AI, the city remains committed to responsible use and data security. All work generated or assisted by ChatGPT will be reviewed by human staff. This oversight is crucial for verifying accuracy and ensuring compliance, particularly with sensitive information. "We have to review it for things like sensitive information," Calkins stressed. "As a government, we have to be open for public records. We have to make sure that we're not putting out what they call PDI, protected information. We're not putting out HIPAA or health care information." This diligence ensures that with every response from artificial intelligence, proper protocols are followed.

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