Project Description

In 2024, the City of Tempe is prioritizing the expansion of AI literacy and ethical AI usage across its municipal operations. As AI-powered tools become more integrated into public services, the city recognizes the importance of equipping employees with both foundational AI knowledge and a clear understanding of the ethical, legal, and societal implications. The initiative aligns with Tempe’s Ethical AI Policy and Generative AI Use Guidelines to ensure that AI technologies are procured and used responsibly. The creation of an aligned curriculum would serve to educate the city’s employees and further empower them in the face of the constantly evolving AI-landscape. Thus, the curriculum syllabus hopes to promote discourse regarding the proliferation of AI tools for municipal functions.

Project Aims

As Tempe’s Ethical AI Policy outlines 12 guiding principles, the current project is a manifestation of Principle 11, which aims to provide training programs for Tempe’s city employees. The AI curriculum syllabus, featuring tailored procurement recommendations, aims to democratize the skills and knowledge necessary to contend with the risks and ethical drawbacks of municipal AI use in Tempe, AZ. The layout, format, and intuitive framing of information intends to increase accessibility of and remove the perceived esoteric veil from AI related content. The four modules outlined in the syllabus (Module 1 - Mechanical Basics and Data Types, Module 2 - Outline of AI Risks, Module 3 - Specific Tempe AI Use Cases, and Module 4 - Actionable Steps for Governance) seek to guide the city’s municipal workers towards a holistic competency that will facilitate their transition from consumers/users of AI tools to executors and arbiters of its governance.

Methodology

The methodological process began by consulting with the project’s Tempe city government partner Dr. Stephanie Deitrick, Chief Data Analytics Officer, to outline the curriculum’s initial goals. Relevant reviewed literature and interviews withs AI pedagogy experts informed the flow, organization, and body of content. Common topics between the reputable literature and consulted subject-matter experts verified the validity of content structure and topic inclusion. In conjunction, the coalescence of Dr. Deitrick iterative feedback with the former allowed for a successful workflow.

Project Impact and Future Work

In conclusion, this project addresses a critical gap by creating an approachable, comprehensive AI Literacy and Ethics Curriculum tailored to the City of Tempe's needs. Grounded in the Tempe Ethical AI Policy, the curriculum emphasizes responsible AI use, ethical considerations, and risk management. By focusing on municipal priorities, the project hopes to enhance the city's ability to navigate the evolving generative AI landscape effectively. In Spring 2025, the Dr. Deitrick plans to implement components of the outlined project for employee use. The project hopes to equip municipal employees with the knowledge to make informed decisions and uphold ethical standards in AI adoption. Altogether, these efforts hope to, on a macro-scale, effect increased productivity, improved public service delivery, data-driven decision-making, cost savings, public safety and security.

Contributors