Editor’s Note: Quotation marks have been added to the word “ensure” following a typo and to add “allege” in place of another word. My Bellingham Now regrets the error.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – New details have emerged in the City of Bellingham’s use of AI chatbots.

KNKX Radio reports the city is launching an independent investigation into allegations a city employee used ChatGPT that may be in violation of state contract law.

Public records obtained by KNKX allege the employee used the chatbot to “ensure” a preferred applicant was awarded a contract last year. The employee used the bot to draft application requirements that would “favor” VertexOne over Origin SmartCity when bidding for the city.

VertexOne’s contract bid was $1 million more than Origin SmartCity, who came in second in the city’s ranking system.

Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund responded to KNKX’s requests for comment after launching their own investigation last month, calling the allegations “serious.”

She added that there looks to be more context than what was available in the public records.

KNKX previously reported on the regular use of ChatGPT in the Bellingham Mayor’s office, and KGMI spoke with Western Washington University alum Nate Sanford, who broke the story last fall.

“When I talked to the Bellingham Mayor about this, [she] sees it as a tool for efficiency and says that staff are being encouraged to use it to find ways to make government more efficient, right? Save taxpayers money,” Sanford said in the interview.

Washington state law requires all public contracts be awarded fairly without applicants in mind, minus a few exceptions.