“Machines are a part of our life. We talk about ‘transformations.’ We talk about ‘modernizations.’ But at the core of it, we need to keep people in mind,” Wascalus remarked. “We sell really great stories about what we’re doing in technology. But we don’t talk about the human component.”
Wascalus began serving as CIO for St. Paul in late 2022, just as ChatGPT was being widely released. And it was clear at the time that this technology would soon play a sizable role not only in the lives of Minnesotans, but specifically to the residents of St. Paul whom Wascalus is committed to serving, as well as the many employees in city government.
“I’d never had a job before where I dealt with this type of AI,” said Wascalus, who brought more than 20 years of tech industry experience in both the public and private sectors to City Hall. “We’ve been doing automation and machine learning, things like this. But this is a whole new ball game.”
Wascalus quickly became involved in the budding GovAI Coalition, growing out of San Jose, Calif., to provide resources for agencies as they navigate AI tech and expectations from the public.
“It needs to be valuable. For me, AI is all about human centered — human centricity,” she stressed.
Service to people and helping others can be seen as the through line connecting Wascalus to the Twin Cities, and Minnesota more generally.
“We’re really about helping each other and taking care of each other. And unfortunately — but fortunately — that was on display throughout January, for all the world to see,” Wascalus said, calling attention to the federal immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis region earlier this year that led to nationwide protests.
“This is a land where we really embody that,” she said. “And this is something that is constantly churning through my mind and helping me to make decisions.”
