LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public records in the age of artificial intelligence
Albuquerque City Clerk's Office inundated with requests while state task force searches for solutions
Albuquerque is receiving an all-time high number of requests for public records, likely due to artificial intelligence tools, according to a recently released Inspection of Public Records Act .
Last year the city received more than 16,000 requests, which is a 300% increase since 2017.
鈥淲e need help and we need people to really open their eyes to what鈥檚 going on,鈥 City Clerk Ethan Watson said on Thursday.
Watson suspects that many of the users submitting repeat requests are using AI to scrape news articles for information and then format requests. Those requested records, which are oftentimes police body camera footage, are then popping up on YouTube.
This process is called content farming and has become a popular money-making scheme that requires minimal effort.
Many of these routine requesters are from out of state or even out of the country, with hundreds of requests originating in Pakistan, according to the report.
These out-of-state commercial requests require a disproportionate amount of staff鈥檚 time, Watson said, but 鈥 as the IPRA law stands 鈥 staff has no option to prioritize in-state requests.
As written, the process is akin to waiting in line, Watson said, and records are delivered on a first-come, first-served basis.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 process a request from a YouTuber over the Journal or vice versa,鈥 Watson said.
Currently, out-of-state requests make up 36.6% of requests and international requests represent 10.5%. Those requests take up the majority of staff鈥檚 time at 59%, according to the report.
Staff spend 41% of their time processing requests originating in New Mexico.
Many of the out-of-state and international users submit hundreds of requests with near-identical phrasing to one another, despite there being no other apparent connection between users. These requests are often sent at particular times, as if on a schedule.
Watson said he is unclear what service people are using but suspects that it is most likely AI-based.
For the first time, these technology-aided users are appearing alongside law firms, journalists and data brokers in the most frequent requesters list.
This change signals an 鈥渆pisodic, transactional use of IPRA by non-local actors rather than community-based engagement,鈥 according to the report.
As a result, the increase is worsening the city鈥檚 record request backlog, which stands at 1,807 requests as of Thursday. Any request that has been open longer than 30 days is considered backlogged.
Despite a 59% increase in requests this quarter alone, the report details that more than 48% of them are being processed in 20 days or less.
The onslaught of requests isn鈥檛 the only issue, Watson said, people are increasingly seeking more time-intensive records such as Albuquerque Police Department bodycam footage.
Approximately 71% of requesters asked for APD records in the year鈥檚 first quarter, which includes police reports, bodycam footage and internal affairs documents.
Processing bodycam footage is especially time-intensive and mentally taxing, Watson said.
鈥淧eople underestimate the extent to which this is an extremely challenging job because you spend six to eight hours a day watching really, sometimes, awful video over and over and again,鈥 Watson said. 鈥淚f there's five officers on-scene, not only are you redacting one (video), you're redacting the same scene five times.鈥
A delicate balance
Though the City Clerk鈥檚 Office is struggling, Watson did not point to specific changes that could lighten to load.
Instead he deferred to the newly created IPRA task force to evaluate if and how to reform the law.
That task force includes numerous agencies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the New Mexico Press Association and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.
鈥淚n Carlsbad they鈥檝e seen a 200% workload increase over the past three years,鈥 said NMFOG Executive Director Christine Barber. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 unmanageable and most places have seen a minimum of 30% increase, if not closer to 50%.鈥
Where the task force comes in, Barber said, is finding a solution to unburden clerks while not infringing on the public鈥檚 right to information.
Walking that line requires a delicate balance.
鈥淭he things that work are also the things that make it not work,鈥 Watson said about the law.
Though the board is yet to formally meet, NMFOG has suggestions for change. Among the top priorities for NMFOG is to establish a protocol for weaponized requests.
Weaponized requests are a deluge of requests maliciously submitted with the intent of paralyzing a clerk鈥檚 office during a critical moment, like an election.
This has already happened in cities and counties on the East Coast during the past presidential election, Barber said, and the task force needs to create a protocol for local clerks should it happen in New Mexico during the midterms.
Additionally, Barber suggested that the task force form a board that clerks can bring 鈥渧exatious鈥 requesters to for guidance and mediation.
NMFOG does not support efforts to limit requests to New Mexican residents, which Barber said would have unintended consequences.
For example, insurance companies often request public records documenting traffic accidents. Though those insurance companies represent New Mexicans, they may be based in another state or another country.
Limiting requests geographically could have the unintended consequence of delaying claims for New Mexicans, Barber said.
Additionally, such limitations could affect New Mexicans serving in the military abroad.
鈥淭hese records are being held in trust for New Mexicans and so they have the right to access them no matter where they live鈥
Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.