There will be some big shoes to fill at city hall following Bainbridge Island city manager Blair King’s retirement Jan. 30 — so big that one local consultant has suggested that the city start looking for a new type of footwear.

BI tech consultant R. Kenner French has proposed that the city of BI integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into some municipal functions, including parts of the city manager role — what he’s calling an “AI-Chief Operating System.”

“Artificial intelligence — it’s not a thing of the future, it’s here now. We like to pride ourselves in being at the forefront, as a city; I think that’s relatively obvious. So, adopting AI now, and having a city manager who’s AI-enabled, will benefit the citizens, as a result,” French said. “We will then be one of the first cities to adopt an ‘AI city manager’ or a truly AI-enabled city manager, and that will also be good for the city, and also for potentially even other cities down the road.”

On Jan. 28, French will host a public meeting at 755 Winslow Avenue NE, Suite 101, from noon to 1 p.m., to gather input from community members both in support and against the use of AI in city government.

French’s recommendation comes as the city begins its search for a new manager through executive recruitment company Prothman. Per BI Mayor Ashley Mathews, the city is not quite ready for a fully AI city manager, as French has at times proposed, but there could be opportunities within existing roles to improve workload and efficiency.

“What we should be looking for is to explore other innovative ways that AI can enhance current technology we use or processes we have,” said Mathews. “For instance, I brought up responding to public record requests, which is something very time-consuming for our city clerk, as well as even more robust ways to engage and communicate with the public.”

French is a longtime financial leader: a former vice president of small business retirement plans and business efficiency at Wells Fargo and ING, as well as a member of the Forbes Business Council. Now founder and board member of Vast Solutions Group, a financial engineering consulting firm, French works with small businesses to encourage their uptake of AI, particularly for tax filing, financial advice, retirement planning and the automation of administrative tasks.

“Most of [our clients] come to us because we have shown to utilize artificial intelligence to lower tax liability and to help business owners,” French said. “We have a community called the ‘Vast Vault,’ which teaches people how to, one, use artificial intelligence, and also how to use artificial intelligence to better their financial situation.”

French’s vision of AI in action at city hall is more of a philosophical adoption of the tool than a specific program. His ideas range from a chatbot-like service that can assist the public with permitting services and other rote processes; a data-cruncher for use internally by city staff; a multilingual forum moderator that aggregates community sentiments for consideration during policy creation; or a public-facing, data-driven traffic dashboard.

“We’ve seen how AI can change a complex data set into actual strategies, and the city can do the exact same thing,” said French. “It can analyze the Winslow Subarea Plan and optimize it. Obviously, there should be a human who’s helping out the process, but that can be done. All you have to do is put all the data in that exists, and then put in basically the ultimate goal of whatever they’re trying to do, and then that will give them solutions.”

Theoretically, a single AI system could be capable of all of these functions and more, but incorporating such a system into existing civic infrastructure would take a city manager keen on AI use. French has pitched a homegrown “candidate” — an AI system called “Joel” — that he plans to request be considered in the applicant pool for the position of city manager.

The goal isn’t necessarily to hire “Joel,” it’s to encourage human candidates to consider the potential uses of AI, French explained.

“The person who comes in, who is educated or willing to be educated on the AI process and how to use it, will be a much better candidate and a much better city manager — that I will promise you. If there’s a city manager who understands the upside with using AI, and also the potential downside, that will even mean more for the city,” said French. “It will be helpful to the city, because there are some huge downsides with artificial intelligence, and someone who knows AI, who understands that that’s something they have to combat with, will be better off as a citizen of the city.”

There are some major hurdles for the digital tool, French noted: some large language model platforms, like ChatGPT, have security issues, and it may eradicate some jobs within city government, he said.

However, the AI system could be housed on a closed computer system, he said, and the funding that the city saves on potential lost jobs could be redistributed to citizens through lowered utility or tax charges. He speculated that if the city chooses to hire a computer engineering firm to develop an in-house AI system, it could cost about $15,000, and an additional $5,000 per month for its operation costs.

“[The city] can build it to their own liking, with their own specifics, but in my opinion, they should have one on the side, and then one public-facing one,” said French. “Like right now, people go into the city to ask questions […] But now, people can go in and type in their questions for the city. Instead of going in and asking that remaining [staffmember], they can go in and type in their questions and get answers. They can even get the answers read off to them. They can even make it so they’re talking to the city, depending on how the model is put together.”