Snohomish County Tests Civic Assembly Model for AI Policy

Residents Shape AI Governance Through Structured Deliberation

Snohomish County, Washington, concluded an unusual experiment in direct democracy last month: a civic assembly where 40 residents spent three weekends developing policy recommendations for how local government should deploy artificial intelligence.

The participants—including a middle school teacher, software engineer, and retired supply chain manager—met at Washington State University's Everett campus in May and June. They heard from expert speakers, discussed AI concerns, and worked through hypothetical scenarios before 29 members voted to approve a 45-page final report. Each participant received a $500 stipend.

The report emphasized three core principles: transparency in AI deployment, mandatory human oversight, and a requirement that AI serve genuine public needs rather than administrative convenience.

Why It Matters

As local governments race to adopt AI tools for everything from permit processing to public safety, Snohomish County's approach offers a template for incorporating community input before implementation. The model addresses a fundamental tension in AI governance: technical decisions with broad social implications are typically made by specialists without public consultation. Whether this deliberative process proves scalable—and whether officials actually implement the recommendations—will influence how other jurisdictions approach similar questions.

The Civic Assembly Model

The County Council authorized the assembly last summer, partnering with Civic Genius, a nonprofit that facilitates community engagement. The organization mailed invitations to 15,000 residents and used social media outreach to assemble a demographically representative group.

Civic Genius covered the estimated $160,000 cost as part of its partnership with the county.

"At a time where trust in government and institutions is at record lows … I think it's incumbent upon people in government … to go out of our way to bring the public in on big decisions," County Council member Jared Mead said.

Jillian Youngblood, Civic Genius executive director, emphasized the process prioritized deliberation over debate. "In debate, somebody wins and somebody loses. In a deliberation, everyone is on the same team and you're trying to work together toward a common solution that benefits everybody," she explained.

Participant Reactions Varied Widely

Theo Moriarty, a Mountlake Terrace teacher, called the experience meaningful despite the time commitment. "I felt like the county was like, 'hey, we do want your opinion,'" he said.

Hillary Moralez, an IT manager, valued the demographic diversity and the inclusion of residents who don't typically engage in local politics. "So many of the people I talked to, they'd never once done anything with their local government," she noted.

Others expressed frustration. Nicholas Boen, 24, was the youngest participant despite the assembly being open to residents 16 and older. "I feel like we still lack a lot of the younger voice," he said, noting missed input from young people who regularly use AI for schoolwork.

Educator Sunny Behl raised concerns about how the assembly handled AI's racial biases. When the group declined to include the topic in the final report, she submitted an individual statement on diversity and equity that was attached as an appendix.

Marie Ramirez felt the format limited genuine dialogue. "I felt like I had less of a voice in this process than if I had just shown up to a town hall," she said.

Implementation Timeline

Viggo Forde, the county's IT director, said an updated AI policy will be released within two months. He noted that many assembly recommendations align with existing practices—county employees already must review and revise AI-generated content, for instance.

"What we've found was that more than half of the recommendations the assembly was making were things that we have done or will do," Forde said.

Civic Genius is now working with approximately a dozen other localities across Washington and the country to launch similar assemblies.

These details were first reported by Ann Duan in The Seattle Times.