B.C. cities are using AI for permits, chatbots and wildfire detection

Several of British Columbia’s largest municipalities are expanding their use of artificial intelligence for internal operations and public services, according to a CBC News survey published Monday. Cities including Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Abbotsford and Coquitlam are using or testing AI tools for tasks such as summarizing reports, drafting emails, reviewing development permit applications, detecting wildfires earlier and identifying contamination in garbage collection. The report says some cities have adopted Microsoft Copilot for staff use, while Richmond has also used other governmentfocused AI tools and is evaluating additional systems. Municipalities said existing privacy and security rules apply, but several are still developing AIspecific policies or guidelines. Experts quoted in the article said cities should carefully consider how resident data is handled and whether each AI tool is actually necessary, especially as public concern grows about government use of AI in decisionmaking.