BEAUMONT, Texas — The city of Beaumont is embracing artificial intelligence with city leaders preparing to implement A.I. technology into their daily operations.
City employees will now have to undergo extensive A.I. safety training.
Beaumont's Chief Technology Officer, Angela Wright, says that the training is about what data to put into the A.I. chatbot, and what personal information to keep out.
"A.I. technology is the new thing. And we don't wanna get behind," said Wright.
While the landscape of technology continues to rapidly evolve, the city of Beaumont is doing everything it can to stay ahead of the curb.
"Most software these days is actually coming with it input into the software. So you're not going to be able to get away from it," said Wright.
White says that artificial intelligence chat bots can offer a wealth of knowledge.
"You have a little bit of dressing, and you have a little bit of sweet potatoes, and then you have some pie. You put it all together on a plate, and then after you eat it, then it all combines into your stomach. So that is what the chat bot is. It's a little bit of information from here, a little bit of information from there. All over the place. All over the world, any input that you want to feed it," said Wright.
Over the next 6 months, city employees will train to build up the 311 A.I. chat bot.
"We don't want it pulling from Houston, or Austin, or New York City because our systems maybe different than theirs. So we have to build that knowledge based internally. Now, most of that information we already have we just haven't had it in that type of format," said Beaumont Mayor Roy West.
The chat bot will be able to answer questions in over 75 different after 311 work hours.
"Then you can narrow it down from there. Or you can tell it 'no that's not what I'm looking for,' and try again. So that's gonna give you more of a immediate answer, and then if it still cannot find the answer for you it will automatically put in a ticket for you," said Wright.
A.I. technology can also help city employees fine tune emails.
"You're not real sure how you wanna address the email one of our email options, it also has coaching," said Wright.
Code enforcement will use A.I. as an organization tool to make reporting and tracking the progress of water leaks and pot holes easier.
"What it boils down to is be able to be most efficient in getting people information," said West.
Over the next 6 months city employees will go through training, then the city will announce when the software will be implemented.