How local government leaders are using AI • AI Center for Government

May 28, 2026

The Partnership for Public Service AI Center for Government® recently hosted a panel of local government leaders to discuss how artificial intelligence is currently being used or considered at the city and county level.

Joining us for this conversation were Kate Carter and Ty Howard, alumni of the Partnership’s AI Government Leadership Program, who shared their perspectives on planning, implementing and assessing AI tools in their jurisdictions.

AI-powered 911 dispatch training in Tucson, Arizona

Kate Carter, AI program manager for Tucson, Arizona, provided an overview of the city’s use of ThisGen 911, an AI-powered tool designed to assist in training 911 dispatchers. ThisGen 911 creates randomized and realistic call scenarios geolocated to a user’s city, while offering real-time performance feedback on a dispatcher’s response.

As the chair of the city of Tucson’s Advanced Technology Committee, Carter and her team review and assess this technology. Their responsibilities include analyzing data and privacy considerations, asserting human-in-the-loop requirements, and developing evaluation frameworks and success criteria for ThisGen 911’s use.

Carter emphasized ThisGen 911’s role as a workforce-development and quality-improvement tool, as opposed to an automation initiative.

“This is a training tool, and we don’t want it to make full decisions. So, we have a human in the loop. There are no automated actions.” she said.

Building a digital front door in Frederick County, Maryland

Ty Howard, chief information officer and interagency IT director for Frederick County, Maryland, discussed conceptual plans to build an AI-enabled digital front door that could unify the county’s various digital services into a single resource.

The digital front door would provide “personalized experience, task-based navigation, and real-time status and updates” for county residents at relatively low upkeep for county administrators, according to Howard.

Howard said data governance is a key factor in ensuring the successful development of this service, describing the role of trusted and curated data as an essential foundation that would allow the digital front door’s AI systems to function effectively and responsibly.

Howard also stressed that successful AI adoption will depend on balancing innovation with governance, collaboration and trust, stating that “where success lies and lives is governance [and] bringing together the people, the process and the technology.”

Key takeaways for leaders at all levels of government

These local government AI use cases highlight three key takeaways for public sector leaders:

Build trust first: Strong governance procedures are essential for responsible AI adoption.

Focus on the user: AI should simplify services and improve how residents interact with government.

Establish team support: Effective AI implementation depends on collaboration, training and team buy-in.

Together, these approaches help ensure AI contributes to responsive and effective public services.

Watch the full discussion here:

Continuing the conversation

The AI Center for Government champions AI innovators across all levels of government. If your agency is taking steps to lead AI well, we’d love to hear from you. Join us as we highlight real-world AI use cases and convene public sector leaders from across the country to share tools and insights to lead confidently in the age of AI.

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