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The Future of Civic Hacking in Context

The Future in Context

Release Date: 07/04/2023

Public Transit's Fiscal Cliff show art Public Transit's Fiscal Cliff

The Future in Context

As ridership continues to lag amid a stubbornly slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, cities experiment with free rides and micromobility to prove public transit’s worth in worsening financial conditions. When New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spiked plans to implement congestion pricing in New York City, it took a much-anticipated annual injection of $1 billion out of the mix — just as public transit systems there and elsewhere were looking to the pricing scheme for some good news in an otherwise bleak fiscal landscape.In TFIC’s occasional series, Your Mileage May Vary, senior writers of...

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Is This The Eligibility and Redistribution Engine America Needs? show art Is This The Eligibility and Redistribution Engine America Needs?

The Future in Context

Former Compton, CA mayor Aja Brown grew up poor. Early on, she developed a sense of what could be for her community. Later, as an urban planner, she had what she calls a “heart to see Compton reach its full potential.” Once she sat in the mayor’s desk, armed with a 12-point vision plan that reflected community needs and a determination to revitalization her city, she used the levers available to her to nudge Compton toward a preferred future. During her tenure, Brown focused on sustainability, economic development, and youth empowerment, leveraging private investment to drive progress....

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The Trouble With TikTok show art The Trouble With TikTok

The Future in Context

Eric Goldman, associate dean of research at Santa Clara University School of Law, assesses concerns around the impending TikTok ban or buyout. It faces significant First Amendment challenges, he said. The debate over the potential TikTok ban, or forced sale under recent federal legislation, hinges on significant legal and constitutional challenges. Eight TikTok influencers have already filed a lawsuit, arguing the ban infringes on their First Amendment rights. Santa Clara University School of Law Associate Dean of Research Eric Goldman joins our Government A to Z, panel, drawing attention to...

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Government websites are failing at the basics: How to fix them show art Government websites are failing at the basics: How to fix them

The Future in Context

A new report card called ScanGov monitors and evaluates the fundamentals of government websites in all 50 states and the federal government. The report reveals that half of all states received a failing grade, indicating a need for improvement in transparency, domain credibility, accessibility, and crawlability. The creators of ScanGov, Elias and Luke Fretwell, emphasize that their goal is not to shame governments but to educate and inspire behavioral change. The project has received positive feedback and has already prompted some agencies to make improvements. However, there is still a need...

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Choosing to Lead show art Choosing to Lead

The Future in Context

From digital inclusion to AI innovation, we take a closer look at Government Technology’s honorees in the 23rd year of its annual awards. In conversation with editorial staff, we focus on the work of five particular leaders. The editors of Government Technology recently released their annual Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for this year. The class of 2024 is noteworthy for continuing a multiyear trend toward gender equity among recipients, with women making up 44 percent of the group. The cross section of public leaders is recognized for their work on digital inclusion, government...

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The  Importance of State Government News Coverage show art The Importance of State Government News Coverage

The Future in Context

State government coverage faces a decline amidst journalism's broader struggles, with Pew Research Center revealing a rise in statehouse reporters, yet a decrease in full-time coverage. The University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communication combats this trend, sponsoring the $25,000 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, awarded this year to a collaboration between Texas Tribune, ProPublica, and "Frontline" for their Uvalde school shooting investigation. Hub Brown, the college's dean, notes the endangered state of state government journalism due to dwindling resources,...

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Reimagining the Future of Public-Sector IT show art Reimagining the Future of Public-Sector IT

The Future in Context

With a crowd of more than 900 people, the NASCIO Midyear Conference buzzed with energy about generative artificial intelligence, along with concern that humans remain in charge. Generative AI can fill a room. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Midyear Conference attracted some 938 registered attendees. And that’s for a membership organization that represents 50 appointed tech officials. Not surprisingly, AI dominated the agenda — but not to the exclusion of longstanding NASCIO priorities of cybersecurity, workforce development, business transformation and...

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AI as a Stress Test for Government Data show art AI as a Stress Test for Government Data

The Future in Context

The rise of generative artificial intelligence is a stress test for data governance and management. And an opportunity for data stewards to shine. When Neil Cooke became the Chief Data Officer at the Texas Department of Information Resources in 2022, generative artificial intelligence (GenA) was not on the horizon. The role was focused on data governance and collaborating with state agencies in overseeing the shared open data portal. It is tempting — and a little clickbaity — to say GenAI changed all that. But that would be factually incorrect. In fact, all the behind-the-scenes work on...

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Resisting the Campaign for Safer Streets show art Resisting the Campaign for Safer Streets

The Future in Context

Reducing traffic deaths is a compelling proposition, but it gets complicated when trying to make it so. Reduced enforcement of traffic laws, increased rates of driver impairment, cellphone distractions and street designs that prioritize speed have helped reverse long-standing traffic safety gains in American cities.Programs like Vision Zero, aimed at eliminating traffic deaths, face challenges in implementation and efficacy, though success stories like Hoboken, N.J., offer hope. Federal initiatives such as Safe Streets and Roads for All provide substantial funding opportunities for cities to...

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Is AI Ready to Replace Human Policy Advisers? show art Is AI Ready to Replace Human Policy Advisers?

The Future in Context

A 50-state investigation in data journalism suggests the answer is, not yet. The AI agent was insightful on a number of fronts; but, while not descending into hallucinations, its mind strayed from instructions as the experiment went on. Government Technology Data Reporter Nikki Davidson tasked Google’s AI tool Gemini (formerly Bard) to explore AI’s perspective on government technology use. Davidson’s innovative approach involved treating AI as a collaborative partner to generate insights on AI’s potential applications in government. Despite Gemini’s occasional inaccuracies and...

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More Episodes

A 14-year-old self-taught coder is doing for government what it did not do for itself. His dad helped but he learned how to hack alongside friends at a venerable but sometimes overlooked public institution – the library.

Civic hacking is generational. It still carries some of the old school hackathon vibe but people coming of age today expect to be able to get data, use it for their purposes, add some value and give it back for benefit of the wider community. That generational shift offers some interesting possibilities for redefining government digital services – and who makes them so. It could also radically change our understanding of volunteering when outsiders do more than just run fundraisers. 

On this episode - the 100th for TFIC - meet Elias Fretwell and his dad, Luke, who together are out to use public data to improve things for people who use government services. You can see and use some of the apps they built online - including their National Survey Marker map and their take on CDC Disease Surveillance.