The City and County of San Francisco has released its first comprehensive guidelines on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by city employees, aiming to promote efficiency while safeguarding public trust, data privacy, and ethical standards.
The City’s Emerging Technology Team in coordination with the AI Advisory Committee developed the guidelines. They apply to enterprise GenAI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise that are formally approved for government use. They outline acceptable uses, data protection requirements, and clear do’s and don’ts for AI-generated content .
“Whether created by AI or a human, you are accountable for anything you use or share,” the guidelines emphasize, underscoring employee responsibility for all outputs.
For low-risk internal tasks, like drafting memos, summarizing meetings, or debugging, staff may use enterprise AI tools without formal disclosure. That’s provided they thoroughly review and verify the content. However, public-facing or sensitive tasks—like drafting content for hiring, enforcement, or public communication—require strict safeguards and must be documented through the City’s 22J inventory process.
The use of public AI tools, such as ChatGPT’s free version, is discouraged and prohibited for handling sensitive data. Staff must obtain departmental approval before using any non-sanctioned AI tools.
San Francisco also draws a hard line on prohibited uses: no deepfakes, impersonations, or relying on AI for legal, regulatory, or decision-making tasks. AI tools may support—but never replace—human expertise, particularly where public outcomes or rights are involved.
The guidelines reflect San Francisco’s broader commitment to ethical AI deployment in government. Officials say the rules will be updated regularly as technology and laws evolve. Staff are encouraged to contact the Emerging Technology Team for training, tool selection, and interpretation assistance.
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