WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS DISCUSS AI, ITS EFFECTS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  

The impact of artificial intelligence was a point of discussion during today’s (Tuesday) Washington County Commissioners meeting.

Brenham | Washington County Economic Development Director Teresa Rosales shared her department’s quarterly report with commissioners, in which she discussed what was presented during the Southern Economic Development Council’s annual conference this past week in Savannah, Georgia.

Rosales said the conference highlighted the growing uses of AI and its implications, specifically for businesses and economic development entities, as well as the rising need for data centers to help offset the time needed for AI inquiries.  She said a vast majority of the attendees at the conference, not including herself, stated that they actively incorporate AI into their operations in some way.

According to Rosales, some of the primary uses of AI involved content development and site selection, pertaining to what influences the decision to put a business at a specific location.

Rosales encouraged commissioners to look into adopting an AI policy for the county.  Information Technology Director T.J. Harris replied that one is already in the works, though it primarily focuses on the tasks that AI should not be used for.

County Judge John Durrenberger said it is important to be cautious when using AI.  He noted what he learned from a recent conference that showed how AI’s results for legal advice were often not accurate with the cases they quoted and were not pertinent to what the person seeking information wanted. 

Other topics of note at the conference that Rosales mentioned were sustainable energy solutions and conservation efforts and how they can drive site selection.

Also during her report, Rosales spoke on the progress being made on an agreement with Project Color Guard, described by former Economic Development Director Susan Cates as a “data center project”.  She said final signatures will come “probably within a week”, and more details will be coming on the project itself soon.

The project would be located on 17 acres in Brenham’s Southwest Industrial Park.  Cates said during a commissioners meeting in March 2023 that the project’s water consumption would be “extraordinary”; Rosales told commissioners in May that economic development staff was crafting language in the agreement for a restrictive covenant relating to water.