To AI or Not to AI

Despite the emergence of new frameworks, guidance, and recommendations to support the overall responsible use of artificial intelligence by public agencies, there is a dearth of guidance on how to decide whether AI should be used in the first place, including how to compare it to other solutions and how to document and communicate that decision-making process to the public. This brief seeks to address this gap by proposing a four-step framework that public administrators can use to help them determine whether to proceed with an AI system for a particular use case:

1. Identify priority problems for the public agency and its constituents
2. Brainstorm potential solutions to priority problems
3. Evaluate whether AI could be a viable solution before comparing alternatives
4. Document and communicate agency decision-making on AI uses to the public