Gloucestershire County Council plans a £3.4m overhaul of its services with increased reliance on artificial intelligence. Concerns have been raised that residents’ personal data could be accessed by the US Government under American legislation such as the Cloud Act.
Councillor Craig Horrocks highlighted the issue at a corporate overview and scrutiny committee meeting, noting that US warrants could compel companies like Microsoft to surrender data held on their systems. He pointed out that data does not need to be physically stored in the US to be at risk.
Deputy chief executive Nina Philippidis acknowledged the concerns, stating the council’s data and IT teams are closely monitoring the situation and will not put residents’ data at risk. She confirmed the council is already using AI tools like Copilot and Magic Notes, and is working to ensure compliance.