Artificial Intelligence Is Rapidly Changing the PIA Process

The Maryland Public Information Act procedures are changing quickly with AI accelerating and misunderstanding components of the process. 

A recent presentation at the 2026 MACo Fall Symposium, Harnessing AI: Opportunities and Responsibilities for Counties, included a thorough presentation to local officials on the process changes that the Maryland Public Information Act is experiencing because of artificial intelligence (AI). Deputy Public Access Ombudsman, Alisa Bralove Scherr, covered a number of areas that are affected from the initial inquiry, all the way through the mediation process.

Now that AI can automate a PIA request independently, a few challenges present themselves in these circumstances including that AI:

  • tends to make requests more broad, using terms like “any and all” instead of making targeted requests
  • lacks human judgment and perspective in the mediation process

As for human requestors, other issues are coming up as they use AI to create their inquiry and collaborate on the production of the materials with custodians. It is quickly becoming evident that trusting AI hallucinations is not the only issue. Individuals makings requests have begun taking AI answers as the knowledge authority particularly when AI often misstates and misunderstands the PIA and the nuances of legal language. In these situations the bots are also, what Deputy Ombudsman Bralove Scherr described as,”confidently wrong.”

A major concern from custodians here is that government policy and legislation can not keep up with the speed of these evolutions. Additionally, AI use itself has become an accessible PIA record for public officials using it along with the onslaught of new technologies that were not initially contemplated by lawmakers. This includes things like chat bot exchanges and AI processes for analyzing automatic license plate readers and body-worn cameras in public safety.

The presentation concluded with a few simple best practices for both request makers and custodians.

  • use AI as a helper, not a decision maker
  • verify output for PIA accuracy
  • never rely on AI for confidential or sensitive information
  • understand AI does not replace human communication or agency authority
  • avoid the use of AI during PIA mediation