The State of AI in Denver’s Education and Public Sectors: 4 Experts Share Their Thoughts
In the public space, AI acceptance varies among leaders. While some are wary of its potential pitfalls, others wholeheartedly embrace the cutting-edge technology in the workplace and community.
We wanted to hear first-hand how AI is changing leaders鈥� approach to public engagement. So we hosted The Impact of Technology & AI on Public Engagement in Denver, CO, featuring experts Amy Bhikha, Chief Data Officer at the Colorado Governor鈥檚 Office of Information Technology (OIT); Jenny Schiavone, Chief Digital Officer at the City and County of Denver; Dr. Richard Charles, Chief Information Officer for Denver Public Schools; and Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
In this Article
- The State of Colorado ensures ethical, transparent, and secure AI use while supporting innovation
- The City of Denver prioritizes accessibility for a user-friendly online experience
- Denver Public Schools approaches AI with caution
- Denver Public Schools prioritizes meaningful listening for strategic planning
At a similar panel in Atlanta in February 2024, speakers used words like 鈥渟cary鈥� and 鈥渦nknown鈥� to describe AI. However, this panel revealed a significant shift in tone鈥攚ith participants using words like 鈥渢ransformational,鈥� 鈥渇ascinating,鈥� 鈥渆xciting,鈥� and 鈥渓ife-changing.鈥�
Together, our group of experts discussed the multifaceted role of artificial intelligence (AI) in community engagement and explored how leaders could harness it to promote inclusivity and accessibility while ensuring that technological advancements benefit community members.
We discussed how leaders could balance ethical and privacy concerns with using AI for community betterment and safeguarding individual rights. Education and awareness emerged as pivotal components, seeking ways to enhance public understanding while building trust.
Explore some key insights from our panelists below.
The State of Colorado ensures ethical, transparent, and secure AI use while supporting innovation
"When you're in the public sector, it's very much about trust. It's not about making money鈥攁nd that trust mantle has to be really high."Amy Bhikha, Chief Data Officer at the Colorado Governor鈥檚 Office of Information Technology (OIT), shared that AI is becoming central to public sector operations鈥攚hile focusing on ethical, transparent, and secure use in tandem with innovation.
In Colorado, they鈥檙e actively tracking AI legislation and using community input to create guardrails that address consumer protection, transparency, and ways to avoid discrimination. 鈥淲hen you're in the public sector, it's very much about trust. It's not about making money鈥攁nd that trust mantle has to be really high,鈥� Bhikha said. 鈥淪o anything that's public-facing, we've been pretty cautious on." As legislation evolves quickly, a public task force meets monthly to refine its language, aiming to take effect in 2026.
鈥淲e knew there'd be great efficiency gains鈥擨 think what we've also seen is a lot more creativity.鈥�
Colorado has trialed AI tools across state agencies. 150 employees tested new applications and contributed insights on efficiency and creative impacts. Bhikha and her team were pleased with the results. 鈥淲e knew there'd be great efficiency gains鈥擨 think what we've also seen is a lot more creativity,鈥� she shares. 鈥淧eople feel like they're not just doing their jobs faster but doing them better.鈥�
To ensure AI鈥檚 benefits are inclusive, the state prioritized accessibility by including employees with diverse needs, who reported life-changing experiences, especially when AI-generated content enriched their ability to engage with visual materials.
Bikha maintained that human oversight is critical for high-risk applications, with additional scrutiny from the governor鈥檚 office for specific use cases. In balancing these technological advancements with ethical considerations, Colorado aims to merge AI鈥檚 potential with strong governance, creating a trusted and impactful AI integration across public services.
The City of Denver prioritizes a user-friendly online experience with AI
鈥淗ow can we use AI to create more cohesiveness? How can we [support people who say], 鈥業 want to bypass a human. I wanna do it myself, and I wanna do it fast and seamlessly鈥�?"In her role as Chief Digital Officer for the City and County of Denver's Department of Technology Services, Jenny Schiavone鈥檚 approach to resident and community engagement has evolved significantly with AI technology.
Initially, the city focused on streamlining its digital presence to make services accessible across 50 diverse agencies. Schiavone asked, 鈥淗ow can we use AI to create more cohesiveness? How can we [support people who say], 鈥業 want to bypass a human. I want to do it myself, and I want to do it fast and seamlessly鈥�?"
The city wanted to prioritize equity and accessibility and create a welcoming, user-friendly experience. However, maintaining consistent multilingual access across thousands of web pages was challenging, so they turned to automated AI.
Denver launched a chatbot called Sunny in 2023. It was designed to serve as an extension of the city鈥檚 311 system, a catch-all for public inquiries鈥攚hether someone was calling to talk to the solid waste department about a missing trash can, or needed to talk to human services about benefits.
Maintaining consistent multilingual access across thousands of web pages was challenging, so they turned to automated AI.
According to Schiavone, Sunny can handle inquiries in 72 languages and offers immediate user-friendly assistance without human intervention. In fact, the chatbot has reduced call center reliance by deflecting 25鈥�35% of inquiries.
Sunny鈥檚 design allows residents to access information easily and quickly across departments, improving service speed and accessibility. Approximately 95% of interactions remain within the chatbot.
By creating this digital solution, Denver has enhanced its service capacity and laid a foundation for further AI-powered improvements. It envisions broader, more innovative applications for future community engagement.
Denver Public Schools approaches AI with caution
"If we use poor data in these tools, it鈥檚 not going to be successful."Dr. Richard Charles, Chief Information Officer for Denver Public Schools, emphasized AI's transformative nature and the importance of taking a cautious approach when integrating it into education. He said that as AI technology evolves, educators must prepare students for using it.
But how do educators prepare kindergarteners who will graduate in 2036 for future jobs and technologies that don鈥檛 even exist yet?
But how do educators prepare kindergarteners who will graduate in 2036 for future jobs and technologies that don鈥檛 even exist yet?
Dr. Charles stressed that teaching students how to learn鈥攔ather than focusing on specific technologies鈥攊s critical. This is because technological advancements are accelerating too quickly for educators to keep up with specific skills training.
Instead, they need to help students become adaptable learners who can apply new knowledge effectively. What鈥檚 more, teachers need to understand themselves as learners to guide students in navigating this fast-paced landscape.
Dr. Charles highlighted the importance of involving parents and the community in AI integration, as many are unaware of both the opportunities and risks AI poses in education. He cautioned against over-reliance on AI tools, noting that as models grow more complex, their potential for errors increases, particularly with data biases and 鈥渉allucinations鈥� in feedback loops. "If we use poor data in these tools, it's not going to be successful,鈥� he noted.
To address these challenges and promote responsible AI use in education, he advocates for a collective approach. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have time for peer-reviewed journals,鈥� said Dr. Charles. 鈥淪o if you鈥檙e discovering things, let鈥檚 have a repository as a state where we're sharing what we're learning from these tools."
Denver Public Schools focuses on broader listening for strategic planning
鈥淚 needed to hear everyone else. Some who feel invisible, feel like they don't belong.鈥�Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent at Denver Public Schools, shared his experience with effective family and community engagement for strategic planning and discussed the importance of meaningful listening, especially to historically marginalized groups.
As a newcomer to his district, Dr. Marrero was unfamiliar with the local community. He needed time to engage in deep listening and learning with those who were already adept at navigating the system鈥攁nd especially those who felt disconnected.
鈥淭here's a saying that [leaders] hear from those who know how to navigate the system, those who have access to very important people, and those who are savvy enough to figure it out. And those who are loud and obnoxious enough,鈥� Dr. Marrero shared. 鈥淚 needed to hear everyone else, some who feel invisible, or feel like they don't belong.鈥�
After engaging the community and gathering insights, Marrero assembled a team to analyze the resulting data over 110 days. He said they did it 鈥渢he old school way鈥濃�攎anual data analysis鈥攁nd the process took his team months.
After engaging the community and gathering insights, Marrero assembled a team to analyze the resulting data over 110 days. He said they did it 鈥渢he old school way鈥濃�攎anual data analysis鈥攁nd the process took his team months.
Marrero mentioned that if he鈥檇 used a better survey technology, he would have surfaced his strategic priorities immediately. He knows this because of his experience using 天美网站传媒传媒 to provide a timely, strategic response to a crisis incident at DPS.
After a tragic event occurred in his district, Dr. Marrero used the 天美网站传媒传媒 platform to hear from his community and honor their voices and opinions in a strategic plan to address the incident. The platform allowed him to provide fast answers to their pressing questions, and communicate relevant talking points and solutions that resonated with his community.
鈥淚'm forever grateful to 天美网站传媒传媒 because it allowed us to get through one of the toughest parts in my entire career,鈥� Dr. Marrero shared. 鈥淎s a result, we were able to build a robust strategic plan around safety鈥攁nd a very timely one."
Overall, Dr. Marrero highlighted AI鈥檚 potential to streamline future engagement processes at DPS, and plans to incorporate the technology to improve his district鈥檚 responsiveness in strategic plans that will evolve through 2026.
Ethical AI for meaningful engagement
The role of AI in public engagement is evolving, and discussing impacts and solutions is critical. In our panel, Amy Bhikha, Jenny Schiavone, Dr. Richard Charles, and Dr. Alex Marrero shared their invaluable experiences with using AI in government and education. For them, AI has provided unprecedented opportunities to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, improve equity and accessibility, and innovate community engagement.
AI is a powerful tool for optimizing public inquiries, elevating the voices of marginalized groups for strategic planning, aiding in incident response, and fostering community trust.
While we know that AI can make jobs easier and more efficient, prioritizing human perspectives for public engagement is key. At 天美网站传媒传媒, as we continue to evolve, we鈥檙e committed to using AI responsibly and safely.
Instead of replacing human intelligence with artificial intelligence, we use AI to elevate people鈥檚 perspectives, allowing leaders to get instant insights into their communities and take instant action to support them.
