Aging technology that Congress uses Pizza Hut just caught up to the 2017 era

On a typical day, you can’t turn on the news without hearing someone say this Congress is broken. The implication is that this disregard explains why the institution is inert and irresponsible to the American people.

One element is often missing from that discussion: Congress is bogged down in large part because its members can’t listen to the American people, or even to each other. I mean it literally. Congressional staffers serve in thousands of district offices across the country and their own communication technology it doesn’t match that of most businesses and even many homes.

District offices of members were contacted only secure Wi-Fi internet service in 2023. Discussions between congress members and staff were occasional cut to 40 minutes because some government employees were relying on the free version of Zoom, according to congressional testimony in March 2024.

The information systems that Congress uses have existed largely unchanged for decades, while the world has experienced an information revolution, integrating smartphones and the Internet into people’s daily personal and professional lives. The technologies they have transformed modern life and political campaigning are not yet available to improve the ability of members of Congress to govern once in office.

Slow to adapt

Like many institutions, Congress resists change; only The COVID-19 pandemic pushed it to allow online hearings and bill presentations. Before 2020, whiteboards, sticky notes, and flipchart practitioners dominated the halls of Congress.

Electronic signatures arrived on Capitol Hill in 2021—more than two decades after Congress passed it ESIGN Act to allow electronic signatures and records in commerce.

The nation spends about 10 million dollars a year IN technological innovation in the House of Representatives – the institution that declares war and pays all the federal government’s bills. That’s just 1% of what theater fans spent to see “Hamilton” on Broadway since 2015.

It seems that the story of American democracy is attractive to the public, but the investment in making it work is less so for Congress itself.

of the main administrative office in Congressa non-legislative staff that helps run the operations of Congress, decides what types of technology can be used by members. THESE internal rules they exist to protect Congress and national security, but that caution can also hinder new ways to use technology to better serve the public.

Finding a happy medium between innovation and caution can result in a the most lively public discourse.

An attempt at modernization

Congress has been working to modernize himselfincluding experimenting with new ways of hearing local voices in their districts, including collection of component reactions in one standardized way that can be easily processed by computers.

The House Natural Resources Committee was also an early adopter of collaborative lawmaking technology. In 2020, committee members and staff used a platform called Madison to write and edit in the proposed collaboration environmental justice legislation with communities across the country that were affected by the pollution.

House leaders are also looking at what is called discussion technologywho uses specially designed websites THE facilitate digital participation BY pairing of collective human intelligence with artificial intelligence. People post their ideas online and respond to others’ posts. Then systems can screen and summarize posts so users better understand each other’s points of view.

These systems can even handle mass group discussions involving a large number of people holding a wide range of positions in one a large group of issues and interests. In general, these technologies make it easier for people find consensus AND their voice is heard by policymakers in ways that policymakers can understand and respond to.

Governments in finland, uk, Canada AND Brazil are already piloting discussion technologies. In Finland, approximately one third of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 participate in setting budget priorities for the city of Helsinki.

In May 2024, 45 US-based nonprofits signed a letter to Congress asking him discussion technology platforms to be included in the approved tools for civic engagement.

Meanwhile, Congress is watching ways to use artificial intelligence as part of a more integrated digital strategy based on learning from others democratic legislatures.

Finding the benefits

Modernization efforts have opened connections within Congress and with the public. For example, hearings held by video conference during the pandemic enabled witnesses to share expertise with Congress remotely and open a process that is notoriously unrepresentative. I was at home in rural New Mexico during the pandemic and know three people who witnessed from a distance tribal education, methane pollution AND environmental damage from abandoned oil wells.

New House rules approved January 3, 2025, encourage the use of artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations and allow remote witness testimony.

Other efforts that are new to Congress but long established in business and personal settings include the ability to track changes in legislation and a scheduling feature that reduces overlaps in meetings. Members are regularly scheduled to be two places at once.

Another effort in development is a internal digital staff directory that replaces expensive directories compiled by private companies gathering contact information for convention staff.

The way forward

In 2022, what is now called “member-driven spending” returned to Congress with some digital enhancements. Formerly known as “earmarks,” this is the practice of allowing members of Congress to select specific projects in their home districts to receive federal money. The dedicated brands were dropped in 2011 in between concerns of abuse and opposition by fiscal forces. Their return and rebranding in 2022 was introduced lists of publicly available projectsrules of ethics and a search engine to track expenses as an effort to provide public transparency regarding reserves.

Additional reforms can the federal government even more responsible to the American people.

Some recent improvements are already known. Just as customers can track pizza delivery from the oven to their doorstep, Congress in late 2024 created a flag tracking app that has improved dramatically a program that allows voters to pick up a flag that has flown over the US Capitol. Previously, various procedures in the House of Representatives and the Senate caused time-consuming hurdles in this distribution system.

Finally, the most powerful legislature in the world caught up Pizza Hut, which unveiled this technology in 2017 to track customers’ pizzas from the store to the delivery driver to their front door.

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