In October, the city council of Porto Alegre in Brazil unanimously passed a law concerning water meters that had a surprising origin. Councilman Ramiro Rosário, the bill's sponsor, revealed that the legislation was entirely generated by ChatGPT, an advanced language model developed by OpenAI.
The law, aimed at relieving taxpayers by eliminating the expense of replacing stolen water meters, went into effect on Nov. 23 after approval from various council committees. Six days later, Rosário disclosed that the legislation had not been the result of traditional brainstorming and policy discussions but had been entirely crafted by the AI model, ChatGPT.
Rosário explained that he input a 250-character command into the chatbot, and within approximately 15 seconds, the algorithmic magic of ChatGPT produced a complete policy—a process that would have taken him around three days. While highlighting the efficiency of artificial intelligence as a tool for optimizing public service, the revelation sparked a global debate on the increasing role of automation in society.
The councilman, emphasizing the importance of preparing for the rise of AI, stated that no one would be replaced by artificial intelligence, but those adept at using it could replace others. Rosário, a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast, aimed to introduce the discourse on the onset of a technological revolution into the political and public realms. His motivation stemmed from the numerous complaints from constituents about being charged for stolen city-owned water meters.
In June, Rosário entered a command into ChatGPT, instructing it to create a municipal law for Porto Alegre preventing the Municipal Water and Sewage Department from charging property owners for the replacement of stolen water meters. The chatbot swiftly generated a proposal with a justification and eight subsections. Rosário expressed astonishment at the AI's ability to suggest ideas that hadn't crossed his mind, such as implementing a 30-day deadline for replacing stolen water meters and exempting property owners from water bill payments if the deadline was not met.
Rosário noted that the conventional process, involving consultations with his team and legal sources, would have taken days. In contrast, ChatGPT, in a fraction of that time, drew upon its database for the best references on bill drafting practices globally. The AI-drafted bill presented unprecedented efficiency, aligning with the principles and values of Rosário's mandate, prompting him to sign it.
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