Responsible AI
Responsible AI at GovFetchr.AI
GovFetchr.AI helps local governments use artificial intelligence to make official information easier to manage, understand and access. We believe AI used in government should be transparent, grounded in trusted information, subject to human oversight, measured for answer confidence, and designed with accessibility in mind.
Government Sources First
Build answers from agency-provided information
GovFetchr.AI generates answers using relevant information from each agency's knowledge base rather than relying solely on an AI model's general knowledge.
The knowledge base can include website content, ordinances, resolutions, municipal code, meeting information, notices, documents, calendars, internal procedures and other information provided or approved by the agency.
Show the Source
Make answers understandable and traceable
Residents and staff should be able to understand where an answer came from. GovFetchr.AI provides citations or links to the government sources underlying generated answers and, in most cases, identifies the department responsible for the information.
Humans Remain Involved
Review the system, improve the knowledge
AI-generated information should be reviewable, not treated as automatically correct. GovFetchr.AI and agency staff can review system performance, and agency staff can flag inaccurate, biased or poor-performing responses through the administrative software.
Our approach emphasizes correcting or improving the underlying source information rather than rewriting individual AI responses. This helps avoid hard-coded answers that can become inaccurate as government information changes.
Measure, Review and Improve
Use answer confidence to identify knowledge gaps
GovFetchr.AI uses answer confidence ratings to help identify poor or incomplete responses and potential gaps in an agency's knowledge base.
We encourage agencies to address identified knowledge gaps within two weeks by updating or adding source information. We are also developing tools that compare new and existing knowledge to help identify potentially inconsistent information before it affects generated answers.
Accessibility by Design
Make government information easier to access
Accessibility is incorporated into the design and testing of GovFetchr.AI's public-facing and administrative interfaces. Website templates undergo automated and manual accessibility review against WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria.
Government documents can also be evaluated for accessibility characteristics, including readable source text, accessibility tags and other machine-detectable features. When appropriate, information contained in PDFs can be converted into accessible HTML content to improve access to government information.
Our Commitment
Responsible AI is an ongoing process
AI technology and standards will continue to evolve. GovFetchr.AI will continue evaluating our AI models, prompts, source-management processes, accessibility practices and system performance with a focus on providing local governments with AI that is useful, understandable and accountable.