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Bexar County commissioners on Tuesday voted for the implementation of a policy to protect sensitive county-related data in an ever-growing world of artificial intelligence (AI).
The policy would apply to all county employees, contractors, and vendors using AI.
Mark Gager, the county's chief information technology officer, told commissioners his security logs have shown at least 134 online uses of free AI tools using a bexar.org login.
He explained to county leaders that a security risk exists, especially for personal records, like a person's sensitive health information, which is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
"The free version of AI leverages your data to build their product," he said. "That data is not secure. That data is now publicly available. It's not protected."
Gager said no data breach involving AI has been reported to his office, but he could not confirm whether information sensitive to the county was sent to an AI tool.
"I would suspect that people probably have misused it here and there," he added.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert told Gager it was important that the new AI policy is applied to all county partners.
"This has an obvious, most important protection need at University Hospital," he said of the policy and the University Health System, whose budget the county oversees.
The policy defines acceptable and prohibited uses of AI and requires all AI tools to be vetted and approved by the county's internet technology department. Those who violate the policy could be terminated.
Violations involving a third party could be considered a breach of contract and result in a lawsuit seeking damages.
