Tag: 311

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“Keep a Human in the Loop” Sounds Good. But What Is That Human Actually Doing?

Intelligence analyst reviewing documents with threat assessment and map on screen

In every government AI strategy meeting, the moment things get uncomfortable, someone says it. "Keep a human in the loop." Everyone nods. Tension drops. We move on. But I have started stopping the room. Because that phrase does not answer the one question that matters. What is that human actually doing? In too many agencies, the answer is reviewing output, fixing errors, and cleaning up after the machine. We took our most experienced people and gave them a glorified proofreading job. That is not oversight. That is waste. Human judgment belongs upstream, setting standards, spotting patterns, and making the AI better every single time it runs.

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Traditional Internet Search is Dying! Is Your City’s 311 Data Crawlable for Residents?

Google just confirmed what I have been telling government leaders for months. The era of the "10 blue links" is over. AI Mode has surpassed 1 billion monthly users. AI Overviews now reach more than 2.5 billion people a month. And the way your residents, business owners, and technology partners find government information online has fundamentally changed. If your agency's digital presence is buried behind an outdated web portal or missing from the spaces where your community actually searches — AI will not find you. And if AI cannot find you, neither can the people you serve. I am sharing three things government leaders can do right now to stay visible in the age of AI search.

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The UAE Just Hired an AI Employee. Is Anyone Noticing?

Two people interacting with a city services AI assistant kiosk in a public building lobby.

What if your government agency had an employee who never slept, never called in sick, and could handle thousands of resident questions at the same time? That's not a fantasy. That's exactly what the UAE just built. Meet Rashid — the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism's first AI virtual employee. He's part of a growing digital workforce that includes DEWA's "Rammas," who has already answered over 12 million customer inquiries. And this is just the beginning. On April 23, 2026, the UAE announced a plan to deploy Agentic AI across 50% of its federal government operations within two years — backed by a commitment to train 80,000 government employees to work alongside it. The global AI virtual assistant market is on track to hit $124.9 billion by 2034. The technology is here. The strategy is real. The only question left is whether U.S. government leaders are ready to lead.

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VA Contact Center Modernization Initiative – MyVA311 Launched!

VA Enterprise Contact Center Modernization Initiative With approximately 272 national VA Contact Centers that receives almost 140 million annual calls and services 9 million Veterans, VA has had no consistent approach to customer service. VA studied the best practices of America’s top customer service organizations to learn how they excel at delighting customers. Based on …

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Using Human-Centered Design (HCD) Approach to Improve Your Government Contact Center’s Experience

Every interaction the taxpayer has with the government is a touch point that shapes their impression on the quality of service received based on a positive or negative experience. The contact centers for government are an integrated platform that provides taxpayers and their family members with accurate information about services and information that can provide …

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Welcoming & Innovative Cities Are Creating Digital Strategies to Improve Customer Interactions

The internet changed things to the point where the world cannot even imagine going back in time and possibly living without the convenience afforded by it. Everything and every aspect of our lives was influenced by the internet, shaped and molded by it. And then technology took a step further and beyond. Usually termed as …

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Philly311 Youth Engagement Program – Government Making a Difference

I’m happy to report that we have officially hosted two very successful sessions of our Youth Engagement Program (YEP). On Thursday, July 16, 2015, we launched our first session. The session was dedicated to what Philly311 is and how young people can use it as tool to better their communities. Daniel Ramos, our Community Engagement …

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Getting kids involved in local government – Philly311 Youth Engagement Program Kick-off

I am happy to report that we have officially hosted two very successful sessions of our Youth Engagement Program (Y.E.P). On Thursday, July 16, 2015, we launched our first session. The session was dedicated to what Philly311 is and how young people can use it as tool to better their communities. Daniel Ramos, our Community …

Continue reading "Getting kids involved in local government – Philly311 Youth Engagement Program Kick-off"