UC Irvine-led research team to develop evaluation protocols, tools for city chatbots

Irvine, Calif., June 1, 2026 - From Ask Sammy in Santa Clarita to Rivy, the City of Riverside's online chatbot, AI is increasingly being tapped to deliver public service information to residents across Southern California cities. But what happens when deployment of this technology outpaces evaluations of its accuracy, use and impacts? A UC Irvine-led research team has received funding from the Social Science Research Council to address these concerns.

"Municipal oversight remains focused on basic operational metrics, not on whether these systems help residents understand their rights, navigate civic processes or engage meaningfully with local government," said Bill Maurer, UC Irvine social sciences dean, professor of anthropology and law and the project's principal investigator. "Meanwhile, rapid deployment of this technology can have consequences, as we saw in 2023 in New York City where legally incorrect guidance was provided to small business owners."

Beyond undermining public trust, critical public safety concerns can come into play when chatbots are consulted during emergency situations where clear, accurate information is essential.

"So cities in Southern California face a choice: continue rolling out AI without democratic oversight or intentionally evaluate and govern these systems to strengthen civic trust, equity and participation," he says.

Joining Maurer in the collaborative effort to fill this gap are UC Irvine colleagues Lori Greene, associate vice chancellor for operations and research program services, Athina Markopoulou, professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the Institute for Engineering AI for Society, Jackie Ku, political science graduate student, and Olivia Figueira, computer science graduate student; and Ben Polsky, ethics and technology practitioner fellow at Stanford and director of AI and technology programs at Alliance for Local Leaders International.

Beginning in June, they'll bring together UC Irvine researchers, city technology leaders and practitioners alongside industry and community experts from across Los Angeles and Orange counties to study municipal chatbots for public services. Over three Policy Innovation Days featuring open discussions and feedback sessions, they'll work to co-develop evaluation tools and democratic engagement indicators for municipal chatbots.

"Each session will explore evaluation findings and translate them into practical governance improvements related to procurement standards, oversight mechanisms, transparency protocols and community engagement," said Markopoulou. "Convenings will allow for peer learning among municipal stakeholders, researchers and members of the communities they serve."

Findings will be shared in a publicly available report, and evaluation protocols and tools will be shared widely to improve community-facing AI technology used by city governments.

Funding for this project - $30,000 from the SSRC - begins in June and runs through May 2027.