This is the choice that members of Santa Monica’s government face, though they probably don’t realize it yet. They can use AI to become the transparent, responsive government they’ve always claimed to be. Help residents understand complex issues. Model policy outcomes honestly. Share power instead of hoarding it (fix the city’s Open Data Portal, to take but one example).

Or they can keep playing the old game, and discover that artificial intelligence has a way of turning small fibs into big problems, bad decisions into civic disasters, and ignored constituents into organized opposition.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/08/sm-a-r-t-column-the-algorithm-will-see-you-now-santa-monicas-upcoming-ai-reckoning/