Lately I’ve have scores of discussions about politics, government, elections, citizenship, democracy and liberty — and how AI might affect each of these.
When speaking to an audience I often say, please raise your hand if you consider yourself a good American citizen.
Generally almost everyone in the room raises their hand.
I think this means they are honorable, law-abiding people who generally vote on Election Day.
Then I say, keep your hand up if you know the names of the members of your city council and your state representatives.
Most of the hands go down and a little bit of embarrassment or self-consciousness sets in.
Maybe they are thinking: what does it even mean to be a good citizen? Am I a good citizen?
A representative form of government, a democratic republic, requires citizens to be informed and to hold elected officials accountable for their acts.
If we abdicate our rights as citizens by not being informed, we get what we deserve — government that doesn’t serve the people, doesn’t promote the general welfare.
People talk a lot about special interests, the power of lobbyists, and even corruption in government.
But what do we do about it, other than complain?
Well, here’s one thing you can do right now, if you live in the US.
Visit citizen portal dot AI and sign up for free with you email and zip code.
If the portal has video content from your city government, you’ll start getting emails containing AI generated summaries after every city council meeting.
At a glance you can see if any topic was covered that concerns you or impacts you.
If it was, you can click and watch the video segment where that issue was discussed.
It’s that easy to stay informed.
You can also become more familiar with your representatives and others in city government who are there to serve the public good.
This might not — by itself — make you a “good citizen” but it is a step in the right direction.
If millions of us do this, we’re a step closer to having the informed citizenry which the founders considered essential to having good government.
