City of Berkeley — "The Berkeley Rule" and AI Use Framework for City Government (2026)
Berkeley, CA · City of Berkeley, "The Berkeley Rule" and AI Use Framework for City Government (City Council action March 10, 2026)
On March 10, 2026, the Berkeley City Council adopted "The Berkeley Rule" — a ten-principle framework authored by Councilmember Ben Bartlett to guide ethical, human-centered use of AI in all city operations. Companion AI guidelines from Councilmember Shoshana O'Keefe require departments to apply bias safeguards, maintain data privacy compliance, and ensure human oversight of automated decisions before deployment. The City Manager's office subsequently drafted a formal AI Administrative Regulation implementing these principles.
Technical detail
Berkeley City Council action (March 10, 2026): adopted (1) "The Berkeley Rule" — a 10-principle framework governing municipal AI use, covering transparency, fairness, accountability, human oversight, privacy protection, community benefit, and equitable access — authored by District 3 Councilmember Ben Bartlett; and (2) companion AI use guidelines by District 5 Councilmember Shoshana O'Keefe requiring departmental AI use to satisfy bias-safeguard, data-privacy-compliance, and human-oversight requirements prior to deployment. City Manager's office directed to draft implementing AI Administrative Regulation.
Who is protected: Berkeley residents and visitors interacting with city AI systems
Who must comply: City of Berkeley departments, employees, and contractors using AI in city operations
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Berkeley, CA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2026-03-10 |
| Enacted | 2026-03-10 |
| Citation | City of Berkeley, "The Berkeley Rule" and AI Use Framework for City Government (City Council action March 10, 2026) |
| Enforced by | Berkeley City Manager; Berkeley City Council |
| Topics | government use of AI · automated decision-making · AI disclosure and transparency · consumer data privacy |
| Last verified | 2026-07-06 |
| Official source | The Berkeley Rule — Artificial Intelligence Municipal Framework (Berkeley City Council, March 10, 2026) ↗ |
More AI rules in Berkeley, CA
- Berkeley Government FR Ban (2019) · In effect
Related government use of AI rules elsewhere
- Federal AI Executive Orders · In effect
- NIST AI RMF (voluntary AI risk framework) · In effect
- OMB M-25-21 · In effect
- OMB M-25-22 · In effect
- DOJ ADA Title II Web Rule · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- OPM AI Workforce Guidance · In effect
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