Nathaniel Whittemore

But if we can position community institutions as the human layer in an increasingly AI-mediated world, there is a ton of potential power in these institutions taking on renewed importance in this new age we're moving into.

To support that, I think we have to start by supporting their leaders.

We need dedicated resources and leadership support and training for these particular types of institutions that are not necessarily just about the same things that are going on with individuals, but are really about how to become a node for disseminating and supporting transition among constituencies.

Closely related to communities is the capabilities overhang for municipalities.

Municipalities are, of course, the public and governmental complement to many of those community institutions.

Like communities, they're strapped for resources.

They have old patterns of doing things that can be very, very difficult to change.

Are these groups potentially some of the biggest beneficiaries of the efficiency gains that come with AI?

One study found that 30 to 50% of municipal staff time is spent on tasks that are already automatable or dramatically acceleratable right now.

And it takes about five seconds to think about some of the examples.

Changing review time for permitting and land use.

Moving from hold times, phone trees, and manual routing within constituent services to instant intake automated routing and proactive follow-up.

There are potential implications for public works, for social services, for records, for courts, for revenue and finance, for public health, you name it.

AI efficiencies are so full of opportunity among municipalities.

And for that reason, I think we should be spending way more time, energy, and resources on trying to fix this particular category of capabilities overhang.

What does that look like?

Well, of course, I don't know, but I think that some opportunities include different types of public-private partnerships.

I got to say, right now, the model labs and many AI startups in general don't necessarily have the best brand and reputation.

the AI industry as a whole is suffering from a broader sense among many people, especially in the West, that tech no longer exists to serve people to the extent it ever did, but instead serves only to enrich the people who create that technology.

Seems like a pretty good time to try to engage in some public-private partnerships that actually bring the benefits.