Pennsylvania officials, including Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, recently secured a ruling from the state’s Open Records Office that protects conversations between government employees and artificial intelligence chatbots from being disclosed as public records. This decision stems from a request by WITF for logs from over two dozen state agencies, with the administration arguing that these chats are exempt as they are considered “notes and working papers.” Advocates for transparency express concern that this ruling may hinder accountability for AI usage in government, although some AI interactions can still be deemed public if they contribute to formal documents. Notably, the Shapiro administration had previously conducted a pilot program with OpenAI aimed at enhancing staff productivity through AI-assisted tasks, allowing for substantial time savings in daily operations.
Pennsylvania government shields AI chat logs from public disclosure
