Author’s note: In When a Map Isn’t Just a Map, we showed that GIS already functions as the cognitive infrastructure of local government. In The GIS Awakening, we reframed the GIS professional as a knowledge architect stewarding that institutional intelligence.…
Author’s note: In my last article “When a Map isn’t just a Map” we reframed GIS as the foundation of data intelligence. Today we look at what that means for local government GIS professionals. A Quiet Revolution Hidden in Plain…
Across Michigan, a quiet shift is underway. County clerks are testing chatbots. Assessors are exploring automation. Planners are wondering if artificial intelligence can finally make sense of zoning codes written before color TV. The Digital Innovation Collaborative Exchange (DICE), in…
The Everyday Hero of Local Government In the great machinery of local government, GIS has long been the quiet, dependable cog, the one that keeps turning even when nobody notices. It maintains order, aligns parcels, and ensures that when a…
A National Call to Action The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) recently released a major report—Bringing AI to Main Street: Maximizing Artificial Intelligence’s Positive Impact on Municipal Economies—that shifts the national conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) from Silicon Valley…
Over the weekend, I sat down with a cup of iced coffee, my trusty dog, and the AI Guide for Government from the U.S. General Services Administration’s Centers of Excellence. (Yes, I know how to have a good time.) It’s…
Like many of you in local government, my inbox now serves as a full-time AI hype repository. Vendors promise the moon, Mars, and a minor galaxy if I’ll just sign the dotted line before lunch. Meanwhile, national headlines swing wildly…
AI is moving fast. Faster than local government’s project cycles, faster than our procurement timelines, and definitely faster than anyone’s comfort zone. Every week brings another shiny new chatbot, analytics tool, or vendor pitch promising to “transform” how government works.…
From GIS Director to Digital Information Director: Why I Made the Leap About two years ago, I started to suspect that the traditional GIS department model wasn’t built for where local government was heading. At the time, I was the…
Van Buren County, Michigan (pop. 75,000) Discussions about AI in government often drift into the abstract, like a strategic plan that mentions “leveraging synergies” without ever explaining who’s doing the leveraging, or what exactly is being synergized. Phrases like “AI…
