A policy designed to “support the ethical, transparent, and efficient use of artificial intelligence across City of Lawton departments” was approved by the City Council.
The policy is intended to “enhance services while safeguarding privacy, fairness, and adherence to applicable laws,” said Mayor Stan Booker and Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren.
“This is a product of a few years of research,” City Clerk Donalynn Blazek-Scherler told the council.
AI “represents a significant advancement in technology that, when implemented responsibly, can strengthen municipal operations, improve service, preserve institutional knowledge, and increase organizational efficiency for the benefit of the citizens of Lawton,” the policy states.‘ The City Council “recognizes that municipal government has an obligation to pursue efficiency, stewardship, and continuous improvement while maintaining transparency, accountability, and human oversight,” the policy relates.
AI “shall be treated as a strategic operational tool that supports, but does not replace, the judgment and authority of public servants.”
AI “shall be used as a tool and not implemented for the purpose of replacing employees or to automate decision making.”
The city is committed to implementing artificial intelligence in a manner that:
•improves operational efficiency by reducing repetitive administrative work and accelerating routine processes;
•enhances service by improving responsiveness, clarity of communication, and workflow coordination;
•supports data-informed decision-making while preserving human judgment and discretion;
•ensures AI-generated outputs comply with copyright regulations and avoid unauthorized use of protected content;
•limits use of AI to automating routine tasks and analyzing data.
City leaders recognize that AI tools “may produce unintended bias, unequal outcomes, or provide factually false and incorrect information.” Municipal departments using AI “should monitor results and ensure that human review remains in place.”
The city manager was designated as the Citywide Artificial Intelligence Lead to coordinate with city staff to develop and implement use and controls of AI.