The city of Arlington will begin placing guardrails around its artificial intelligence usage to comply with a new Texas law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new AI policy was passed by the city council under the consent agenda on June 23.<\/p>\n
The city already uses AI in daily operations, Chief Information Security Officer Bryce Carter said, and the changes will help Arlington adapt to the technological changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta balance things, but we\u2019re trying to adopt it very responsibly and look for proof of value, so that way it\u2019s actually providing (a return on investment),\u201d Carter told the Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2025, the Legislature passed the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, which sets boundaries for acceptable and unacceptable AI uses for governmental bodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Uses prohibited include using AI systems to collect biometric data without consent or to create a \u201csocial score\u201d based on an individual\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n
The law was authored by state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, said the legislation could benefit the public while ensuring the safety of Texans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile AI has immense potential for good, it also poses significant harm if left unchecked,\u201d Schwertner said in a 2025 Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s new policy creates a system for cataloging which AI systems are used and assessing the risk for unlawful harm, as well as security breaches.<\/p>\n Among the city\u2019s uses is the Public Works Department\u2019s NoTraffic cameras, Arlington\u2019s public chatbot and Microsoft Copilot for city employees, Carter said. Much of that work is already monitored by humans, he said.<\/p>\n In 2024, the city adopted a generative AI security policy<\/a>. Standards set include who bears responsibility for errors, when text or data compiled by AI is checked by a human and what information can and cannot be put into such a system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve already had a human in the loop, but it helps a lot with our internal processes that the public may not see,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n Many of the guardrails set by the new state law are already in place in the city, Carter said. However, the law requires that the city evaluate any adopted AI programs.<\/p>\n Arlington created a committee to evaluate the new software and AI systems before their introduction last year, Carter said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were still like most other governments, trying to figure out how do we regulate this, or regulate ourselves because it\u2019s just changing so quickly,\u201d Carter said. \u201cThis new law will require us to go backwards and evaluate everything that we had before.\u201d<\/p>\n The new city policy also establishes that third-party vendors working with the city will need to ensure any AI systems used are in compliance with state law. It also requires some city employees to receive Texas-certified mandatory training on AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arlington already created AI training for its employees, according to a report given to the city council earlier this year. Carter said the city has standards for third-party usage of artificial intelligence, but tracking exactly what others are doing isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s even harder to do when it comes to technology and cybersecurity, because they can tell you they\u2019re doing something, but there is about a thousand components to that, and it\u2019s impossible for us to evaluate all of them,\u201d Carter said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done our best to make sure our vendors are complying with minimum standards, but it\u2019s always going to be, and will continue to be, a work in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Moving forward, the city\u2019s AI policy will need to adapt as the technology evolves, Carter said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just so many of these AI models out there, and it\u2019s changing so quickly,\u201d Carter said. \u201cI can\u2019t say what we\u2019re adopting is going to work for a year from now, so we\u2019ll have to make sure it\u2019s agile, and we\u2019re keeping it up to date.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n