Controversy has arisen after it was revealed that a local council in Brazil passed an ordinance written by artificial intelligence (AI). The councilor who proposed the ordinance disclosed this fact himself.
According to local media such as Brazil's G1 and Folha de S.Paulo on the 4th (local time), Porto Alegre in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul announced the 'Supplementary Ordinance to Prevent Charging Costs for Stolen Water Meters' on the 23rd of last month, which was passed by the city council.
This regulation prohibits authorities from charging taxpayers for the replacement costs of stolen water meters. The proposal was submitted by Hamiru Hozario, a city councilor affiliated with the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), and the ordinance was unanimously approved by the 36-member city council.
Subsequently, on the 29th of last month, Councilor Hozario revealed on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "This ordinance is the first case in Brazil created solely by AI," adding, "If I hadn't said it, no one would have noticed."
He stated that he used 'ChatGPT,' a generative AI program developed by OpenAI, to draft the proposal, entering a prompt of 49 words and being able to review the entire related draft within seconds.
Hozario, who majored in law, justified his 'proposal process' on social media by saying, "This AI even suggested improvements better than my original proposal," and "The lesson we should learn is that technology helps reduce costs and optimize work."
Locally, controversy has arisen over his deliberate secrecy about the 'actual author' until the ordinance was announced. Amiutong Sosmaier, chairman of the city council, described it as "a dangerous precedent and seems to have turned on warning lights for legislative activities," pointing out, "There has been no discussion on this topic yet, and the legal barriers to approving AI-written proposals are very low."
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