Hidalgo County sets ground rules for AI use by employees, contractors

Last week, Hidalgo County became one of the largest employers in the Rio Grande Valley to approve a policy related to the use of artificial intelligence by its employees and the people it works with.

Hidalgo County’s AI policy applies to all of its employees — including elected officials and their staffs.

It also applies to contractors, consultants, volunteers, temporary workers, vendors, and third parties interacting with county systems or data.

“AI is definitely the future,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said. “It has a tremendous amount of information that you can access very quickly. It can help you do a lot of things that normally would take hours and hours and hours to do.”

Cortez said AI’s growing popularity made it important to put a policy in place to regulate its usage.

“Anybody that’s not paying attention to AI, and is not paying attention to how to properly use it and control the use of it, is gonna fall behind,” he said. “So I think all of us need to learn the proper use of AI.”

According to a Gallup report earlier this year, more than 13% of U.S. employees use AI daily. 

Gallup reported that 28% use it a few times a week or more, and half of U.S. employees use it at least a few times a year.

The Valley is certainly part of the AI boom. 

A data center is moving forward in Willacy County, and another one is considering setting up shop near Harlingen. South Texas College says it’s all in on AI, and Cameron County is actively recruiting an AI shipyard. Meanwhile, a Turkish shipbuilder is planning a $3B investment to build floating data centers at the Port of Brownsville, and just across the Rio Grande, a manufacturer that is powering AI and data centers is investing $150 million and creating 1,000 jobs as part of its latest expansion.  

Businesses and institutions in the Rio Grande Valley are increasingly using AI or considering it, but they’re doing so by relying on guidance that’s either non-existent or unclear.

Texas has already outlawed some AI usage, and in the U.S., its acceptable use is patchwork and confusing.

Hidalgo County’s nine-page AI policy aims to cut through some of that confusion.

The policy allows the use of AI to draft internal memos, emails, and non-confidential documents.

It can also be used to summarize public records or research materials, to assist with coding, to analyze data, for transcription, and for “workflow automation for routine administrative tasks.”

However, it can only be used for those purposes if a human reviews and validates those outputs. 

“Every AI-generated output used for official business must be reviewed for accuracy, bias, and appropriateness by a qualified County employee and/or applicable user,” Hidalgo County’s policy states.

Sensitive data can only be uploaded using AI with certain tight controls.

The policy fully prohibits the use of AI to automate decisions related to employment actions, legal determinations, investigative conclusions, or decisions related to the allocation of public benefits or services.

It also can’t be used to do anything deceptive under the policy — things like impersonating county officials or staff or generating content meant to mislead the public. And AI systems can’t be implemented without prior approval from certain county departments.

Anyone who violates the policy could be disciplined or fired. They may also have their access to county systems revoked and could face civil or criminal penalties. To help ensure compliance, the county also requires employee training and establishes reporting procedures.

The policy also clarifies that disclosure requirements apply when AI systems interact with the public and that AI-generated content created for official county business is considered a public record subject to the Texas Public Information Act and county records retention requirements.