Hilliard Beacon Audio Companion #81

Opening things up, Kevin recaps his recent trip to see the Oakland A’s final game at the Oakland Coliseum and reflects on the team’s legacy and upcoming move to Las Vegas. Tim shares a bit about Detroit’s latest work trip related food excursion (Corn Beef Egg Rolls everyone), and the group discusses the latest news from the Coffee Fest event in Hilliard, featuring the best of the local scene and the changes made to the venue this year.They also recap their experience at Columbus AI Week, exploring how AI is impacting the public sector and the role it may play in Hilliard’s future. As the conversation continues the guys express varying opinions on Hilliard’s focus on tech investments and AI integration. Jordan points out the city’s Wolpert property purchase and increasing reliance on tech-focused grants and economic development initiatives, noting that 5 out of 6 recent grants awarded were geared toward technology-based projects at the latest meeting of the Hilliard Development Corporation. Tim raises some important, general points about the risks of investing too early in emerging technologies, drawing comparisons to past tech bubbles and failures like Theranos, NFT’s and crypto scams. Kevin, although traditionally skeptical of AI adoption at such early stages, acknowledges that Hilliard is positioning itself as a forward-thinking community by embracing the tech head on as a leader, which could ultimately be a positive move if executed correctly.The conversation ends with a call for community input on whether tech and AI should remain a core focus of Hilliard’s growth strategy. The team encourages listeners to share their thoughts on whether the city’s “bet on tech” is part of the right approach for sustainable local development or if a more balanced economic plan would be better for the future.We look forward to sharing our “Public Service” questionnaire in the very near future with local election issue coverage to come.Also, in the interest of encouraging voting and issue study here’s a link to a generic “Hilliard” sample ballot for this November. You can generate your own - specific to your address and voter file at https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/sample-ballot/Timestamps:* 00:00 - 00:02: Introduction & Episode Overview* 00:03 - 00:08: Kevin's Trip to the Oakland A's Final Game* 00:09 - 00:12: Detroit Culinary Scene Review & Bronx Deli* 00:13 - 00:18: Coffee Fest Recap & Updates for 2024* 00:19 - 00:32: Columbus AI Week Reflections & AI's Role in Public Sector* 00:33 - 00:43: City Development Strategies & Hilliard’s Tech Investments* 00:44 - End: Closing Remarks, Questionnaire for City Representatives, and Call to Action for Community FeedbackThe Hilliard Beacon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hilliardbeacon.substack.com/subscribe