When City workers have the right tools, they can deliver better services to residents. As the City of Boston evaluates how to use generative AI responsibly, it is essential to understand not only what generative AI can offer, but how we can support and prepare our workforce.

In 2023, the City of Boston was one of the first major cities in the United States to release generative AI guidelines. These guidelines were designed to empower the responsible and effective use of generative AI, including principles, sample use cases, and risks to be aware of. As this emerging technology rapidly develops, the City of Boston is continuously researching, testing, and implementing infrastructure for the responsible public use of gen AI.

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence tools that can create different types of content based on your instructions, such as Google Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT. Modern gen AI assistants can create and edit text (such as reports or emails), analyze documents, images, and data, generate new images from descriptions, answer questions, explain complex topics, and summarize large volumes of information.