In a world where automated systems intersect with public life — surveillance infrastructure, data accountability, are civic questions that get decided quietly at the procurement level instead of in public debate.
I come at these issues as a systems person first, not a partisan one: I care less about which side of the aisle a policy sits on and more about whether the underlying technology does what it’s sold to do, and who’s accountable when it doesn’t. If you see it differently, say so — this is meant to be a conversation, not a lecture.
Disagree, or have a local example worth raising? Add it in the comments. Civic accountability works better with more eyes on it, not fewer.
Trevor Durgin 