Denver AI Chatbot ‘Sunny’ May Go Dark After Contract Vote

(TNS) — Denver’s artificial intelligence chatbot “Sunny” is on track to power down after the City Council rejected a contract Tuesday with the company that operates the service.Councilmembers argued that the program often provides inaccurate information and eliminates jobs that humans should have.“I think artificial intelligence is a nightmare unfolding before our eyes,” said Councilman Paul Kashmann. “I don’t know anyone who thinks the world of customer service has improved since humans have been replaced with bots.”

The proposal would have extended the city’s contract with the company Citibot by five years, adding $3.9 million to the agreement. It also would have allowed the city to create a “voicebot” for 311 calls that would have conversed with residents on “low complexity” questions.Mayor Mike Johnston has been a vocal advocate for the city’s use of artificial intelligence, including the “Sunny” bot, as a way to rebuild trust with residents.A spokesman for his administration said Johnston’s office will meet with the council in the next few days to find a solution to keep the service active. The contract for Sunny is paid for through the end of October.

“Sunny makes life easier for residents and allows city employees to focus on solving problems,” Jon Ewing said. “Losing Sunny means losing a tool that has reduced burnout among employees, slowed attrition, and lowered hold times for 311.”Johnston’s administration has argued that many residents prefer to use digital channels to report issues with about 40% of the city’s 311 customer service calls coming through Sunny and the city’s online reporting hub this year. The chatbot has a 90% customer service satisfaction rating and also allows employees to focus on more complex problems rather than rote, repeated questions, Ewing said.Nine of the 12 council members present voted against the contract, including Kashmann, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Stacie Gilmore, Amanda Sawyer, Flor Alvidrez, Shontel Lewis, Amanda Sandoval, Jamie Torres and Diane Romero-Campbell. Councilmen Kevin Flynn, Chris Hinds and Darrell Watson all voted yes.Hinds, who represents Council District 10 in the central part of Denver, said his district has the youngest demographic in the city and that many of his constituents would rather use digital services than talk with someone over the phone.“That’s how some people want to communicate,” he said.Some councilmembers questioned why the contract, which technically expired Oct. 1, was being brought before the council so late. When asked what would happen if the council rejected the contract, Jenny Schiavone with Denver’s Department of Technology Services said the city wouldn’t be “continuing the service.”The council also rejected another technology contract during the meeting Tuesday with a 10-2 vote. The contract would have added $5 million and three years for “On-Call Professional Services related to Business Intelligence and Information and Communication Technologies” with Slalom Inc.KEY LIME AIRAfter weeks of council delays over a lease at Denver International Airport with the company Key Lime Air and its subsidiary Denver Air Connection, which operates deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the council ultimately approved the contract Tuesday. Council members who voted in support of it said they don’t approve of Key Lime Air’s work but that rejecting the contract wouldn’t have ended the flights.“Every fiber of my being says hell no … I don’t want those people at my airport,” Kashmann said. “(We) don’t have the ability to make that happen”Only Gilmore voted no on the contract.©2026 MediaNews Group, Inc., Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.