Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
On April 17, the MMA hosted an introductory webinar on using artificial intelligence in municipalities. Speakers included Serena Sacks-Mandel, field chief technology officer at MGT, top, and Devon Fields, deputy city manager of operations in Chelsea.
On April 17, the MMA hosted an introductory webinar on using artificial intelligence in municipalities, led by Serena Sacks-Mandel, field chief technology officer at MGT.
Sacks-Mandel began with an overview of artificial intelligence, explaining that AI “simulates human intelligence in machines and can perform tasks like learning, reasoning and problem solving.”
AI has been around since the 1950s, but generative AI (like ChatGPT), which can create content like text, images and music, didn’t fully emerge until 2022.
Sacks-Mandel said AI agents process large amounts of data and learn from its interactions to be able to provide information or make a decision.
In municipal governments, she said, AI can be used to create a website chat box to answer common questions, disseminate information during emergencies, develop sample policies, and more. She recommends reviewing and editing anything that AI drafts, as there are limitations to what it can do.
Sacks-Mandel gave multiple demonstrations using ChatGPT and Copilot for a variety of purposes.
Devon Fields, deputy city manager of operations in Chelsea, moderated 45 minutes of questions and answers, addressing inquiries regarding costs of these platforms, recommended AI sites, and citing AI-generated material.
• Leveraging AI Agents in Municipal Government presentation (3M PDF)