Sunshine Week Spotlight: Governments' Uneven Use of AI Raises Transparency Concerns

Local newsroom examines how state and local agencies are adopting AI tools, with mixed policies and oversight

Mar. 28, 2026 at 4:05pm

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A quiet, cinematic painting of a solitary government building bathed in warm, diagonal sunlight and deep shadows, conceptually illustrating the growing use of AI in the public sector and the need for greater transparency.As governments increasingly turn to AI tools, concerns grow over transparency and public access to decision-making processes.Chattanooga Today

As part of Sunshine Week, reporters at the Times Free Press investigated how state and local government agencies in Tennessee and Northwest Georgia are using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, finding a fragmented and uneven landscape with varying levels of transparency and oversight. The newsroom filed dozens of public records requests and discovered that while some agencies have formal AI policies, others are using the technology with little to no guidance or public awareness.

Why it matters

The findings underscore the challenges of applying existing open records laws to new and rapidly evolving AI technologies, which are being adopted by governments in both routine and consequential ways. As AI becomes more prevalent in shaping public policy, there are growing concerns about the need for greater transparency and accountability around its use.

The details

The Times Free Press reporting team, led by politics reporter Ruby Rayner and federal impacts reporter Jules Feeney, filed public records requests with 35 state and local government agencies in Tennessee and Northwest Georgia. They found that 20 agencies said they had no formal AI policies, while others did have policies, including the city of Red Bank, where the city manager used AI to help draft a policy. Eleven agencies reported that officials named in the requests had not used AI and had no related chat logs. The records revealed enormous variation in how governments are applying AI, from using it as an administrative assistant for routine tasks to adopting it more broadly, as Chattanooga has done to build a searchable database of municipal codes and help process non-emergency 311 calls.

  • The Times Free Press reporting took place in March 2026 as part of Sunshine Week, an annual initiative to raise awareness about open government and public access to records.
  • Red Bank's city manager used AI to help draft a policy that was unanimously approved by the city's Board of Commissioners earlier this month.

The players

Ruby Rayner

The politics reporter for the Times Free Press who led the investigation into government use of AI.

Jules Feeney

The federal impacts reporter for the Times Free Press who collaborated with Rayner on the investigation.

Ricky Young

The news editor at the Times Free Press who helped shape the reporting effort on government use of AI.

Nagwan R. Zahry

A professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga who teaches about AI and ethics, and was interviewed for the story.

Mike Neal

The sheriff of Rhea County, Tennessee, who an official said does not use any form of AI.

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What they’re saying

“It was like copy-paste from ChatGPT”

— Ruby Rayner, politics reporter

“If you ask the machine to do everything for you, your brain will become non-functional after a period of time.”

— Nagwan R. Zahry, professor

What’s next

The Times Free Press reporting team plans to continue exploring how governments are using AI tools and the implications for transparency and accountability, as the use of these technologies is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

The takeaway

This investigation highlights the need for greater oversight and public awareness around government use of AI, as existing open records laws have not fully adapted to these new technologies. As AI becomes more prevalent in shaping public policy, there are concerns that the public may lose visibility into important decision-making processes.