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…
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…
With a Detour Through Van Buren County’s AI Policy Artificial Intelligence is no longer the domain of futuristic novels or that one IT consultant who always insists it will “revolutionize municipal workflows.” In Van Buren County, it’s already quietly reshaping…
(I recently had the pleasure to participate on a recent panel hosted by The Elections Group and the AI & Elections Clinic) When it comes to artificial intelligence, local government discourse tends to veer between two equally unhelpful poles: giddy…
Every local government leader frets about property tax rates, millages, and the perennial “what will this mean for the voters?” question. But there’s another tax no one votes on, no one debates at a public hearing, and no one even…
Confessions of a GIS Lifer: Our Field Is Too Small for the Future By Jerry Happel, Director of Digital Information, St. Joseph & Van Buren Counties, MI Authors note: In a previous article, I explained why I no longer call…
Douglas Adams and the Accidental Prophecy of AI Or: How We Ended Up Building Deep Thought with Fewer Marble Staircases Douglas Adams was one of my favorite authors in my formitive teens. I recently re-read a few of his works…
In a quiet corner of Southwest Michigan, the sort of place where road names double as genealogical records, something unexpected is unfolding. Amid the cornfields and committee meetings, a pair of rural governments are attempting what might best be described…
When Michigan released its statewide AI and the Workforce Plan in May, it checked all the right boxes: future-of-work planning, equity considerations, industry alignment, and even ethical AI guidelines. What it didn’t do was check the mailbox at the county…
“AI will free up staff to focus on strategic work.” We’ve all heard it. Maybe we’ve even said it ourselves, nodding along in meetings while wondering what this magical “strategic work” really means. It sounds perfect in theory. But then…
