The city has established basic guidelines for employees regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence technology for city business and documents, though it is still determining its policies regarding vendors and other outside entities’ use of the tools. The efficiencies and broadening of skill sets made possible by AI tools could bring changes to the […]
City of Austin Innovation Office
Posted inCity Hall
Resolutions push city to look toward future use of crypto, blockchain tech
Payments for city services via cryptocurrency could become a reality in the near future, as could storage and processing of paperwork using blockchain ledger technology. Those are two of the possible outcomes from a pair of resolutions set for consideration at next week’s City Council meeting, following a South by Southwest festival heavily focused on […]
Posted inAustin
City seeks grants, partnerships to implement tech solutions for homeless
The city’s Innovation Office has applied for a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with the goal of directing the money toward implementing a suite of blockchain technology solutions to help the city’s homeless population. The grant application is the next biggest hope for continued progress for the apps and digital platforms created […]
Posted inAustin
City bundling blockchain hacks for homelessness in Bloomberg challenge
Austin’s Innovation Office will spend most of the next three weeks compiling and assessing the solutions that teams of area programmers and digital creatives came up with to use blockchain technology to solve the city’s chronic homelessness issues. A total of 75 participants grouped into seven teams spent last weekend working on the Mayor’s Blockchain […]
Posted inAustin
Tech community tapped in move to rid city of paper
Paper-driven processes through Austin’s city government are on the way out with the announcement of a new collaboration with the city’s tech community. The partnership, announced Thursday, will see the city pair up with the Austin Tech Alliance and members of the Capital Factory tech business incubator to identify ways to digitize operations at all […]
Posted inAustin
Road map, conference point to Austin’s future as a smart city
With dozens of projects underway in departments throughout city government, Austin now has an initial road map for how to better use data and technology to become a so-called “smart city.” The Smart City Strategic Roadmap is the first draft of a report that City Council commissioned the Innovation Office to produce late last year, […]
Posted inDevelopment
Innovation Office touts permitting, recycling progress with tight budget looming
The city’s Innovation Office continues to appeal both to Austin’s tech community and departments throughout local government as it moves forward with work to improve service for the city’s much-maligned permitting process for residents and business people. A July rollout of initial improvements to the permitting process comes with a drastic overhaul of the digital […]
Posted inCity Hall
Can Austin innovate itself out of long meetings?
Given the recent tilt toward performance art at City Council meetings – those poor eggs! – and running times that are the longest among major cities in Texas, it seems like the last thing Austin needs is more citizen participation on civic matters big and small. But changing the paradigm for how residents and stakeholders […]