The Ombudsman is now taking the first steps towards looking into the municipalities’ use of AI for, among other things, handling direct enquiries and questions from citizens.
The process begins with a number of hearings where the Ombudsman asks selected municipalities for information about their work with and use of AI in various contexts.
In those hearings, the Ombudsman asks about, among other things, specific municipal projects with AI models that citizens may come into direct contact with, such as chatbots and voicebots, and he asks about various tools that support case processing. The Ombudsman also asks the municipalities to state how they ensure that the general requirements of administrative law etc., including duty to provide guidance, duty to take notes and impartiality, are observed when using the models that the municipalities are developing – or have already developed.
In addition, the Ombudsman asks the municipalities more generally for information on their use of AI tools, including commercially available large language models, and whether the municipalities know about instances where AI has been used in a problematic way.
The hearings are to be seen as part of the Ombudsman’s general focus on the authorities’ development and use of IT systems – including AI.
The municipalities’ replies to the hearings will enter into the Ombudsman’s further work relating to AI, which will be a focus area in the coming years.
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to Aarhus Municipality (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to Esbjerg Municipality (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to Glostrup Municipality (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to Hillerød Municipality (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s first hearing letter to the City of Copenhagen (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s second hearing letter to the City of Copenhagen (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to Odense Municipality (in Danish).
Read the Ombudsman’s hearing letter to the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs (in Danish).
Further details:
Director of International Relations Klavs Kinnerup Hede
kkh@ombudsmanden.dk