Cr Lee Vandervis said he had long pushed for AI summaries, condensed reports, far quicker research and analysis and staff to be deployed more efficiently, but the resistance to using AI in the past had been "panoramic", in his view.
Change was now under way, he said.
Council chief information officer Graeme Riley said last week the council was taking a detailed look at potential applications of AI across the organisation.
Staff already used the technology in limited but practical ways, such as to transcribe meetings and for improved document management, and the council would be exploring wider opportunities in a careful and responsible way, Mr Riley said.
For Cr Vandervis, who is also a Dunedin mayoralty candidate, it was not before time.
"AI has been able to streamline many DCC functions for many years, which is probably why so little use has been made of it," he said.
"Resistance to change is understandable but unacceptable at the DCC when this resistance to the many advantages of using AI costs Dunedin citizens so dearly."
Cr Vandervis said Mr Riley was conscious of AI’s potential, as it could be integral to "faster processing of everything, from consents to accounts and to decision analysis".
The council has a $17 million operational budget in 2025-26 for business information services, which includes staff and operational costs, consumables, internal charges and depreciation.
This was a 3% increase on the 2024-25 year.
Mr Riley said yesterday the increase was not specifically for investigating or rolling out use of AI, although a new information technology managed services contract would cover innovation, including use of AI.
Cr Vandervis said he had also been persistent in pushing for the council’s companies to adopt AI processes more widely, "but again with only limited success so far".
