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Don't mind me...I am just an old man yelling at the cloud.
The summary you are about to read is mostly from AI; however, I did take the time to create the prompt! And tell it that I wanted to emphasize that this is a serious, important but also, very funny podcast episode!
I curated the moments that I thought stood out… and there so many, that my main recommendation, if you have a leadership team, is to have everyone listen to this episode and then come together and discuss what this all means for your work together.
The mood shifts from utopian to dystopian to …. “wait, we are here in this moment as this whole thing is unfolding...how can we know?”
MuniSquare is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Mike Baumwoll is the CEO and founder of Rep’d (short for Represented), the first AI communications platform built specifically for local government. Before launching Rep’d, Mike and his business partner spent a combined 15 years at Twitter, where they witnessed firsthand how misinformation, trolls, and social media dynamics corrode public trust in institutions. That experience led them to build something different — a tool designed to close the education gap between what residents think their government does and what it actually does, by humanizing the people who do the work.
In this episode, Mike joins Dave Pribulka, Eden Ratliff, and Brandon Ford to bat around how AI is already inside your organization whether you invited it or not, what it means to have a “human lens” on AI-generated work, the data integrity problem and the staggering scale of global data creation, and the difference between open AI systems (temperature 10 — the whole internet) and closed-circuit environments (temperature zero — only what you feed it).
The episode is candid, curious, and occasionally very funny — exactly the conversation local government professionals need to be having right now.
“If you are a manager and you’re not using AI and you’re not having that AI conversation with your teams, folks on your teams are using it. They’re paying for their own subscriptions. It’s happening whether you’re ready or not.” — Eden Ratliff
"There should always be a human lens. The moment that we stop telling stories, stop informing and creating a human environment to connect, is where we lose." — Mike Baumwoll
"And by the way, Mike — why should we trust you?" — Dave Pribulka (cutting to the heart of the AI vendor credibility question)
“"You should probably ask AI how to integrate AI.” — Brandon Ford
Chapters
00:00 – Reunion & Reset (Season 2… maybe?)The group reconnects after a hiatus
02:00 – Guest Introduction: Mike BaumwollAI, local government communication, and the “education gap” between residents and government.
04:30 – What Is AI (Really)?From Turing to today—framing the moment and the pace of change.
09:40 – The Reality: You Don’t Get to Opt OutAI is already embedded in operations whether leaders acknowledge it or not.
12:00 – Authenticity vs. AutomationEmails, reports, and the subtle erosion (or evolution) of human voice.
16:00 – What AI Communications Actually MeansMike explains practical applications: drafts, insights, and resident interaction tools.
18:00 – The Runaway Train QuestionSpeed, unpredictability, and whether local government can realistically “control” AI.
21:30 – The Human Element DebateCan AI enhance connection, or does it risk replacing it?
26:30 – AI as a Draft, Not a Decision MakerA key framing emerges: AI as a first pass, not the final word.
33:30 – Data, Trust, and the Scale ProblemMassive data growth and the challenge of filtering truth from noise.
42:00 – Training Fatigue & Trust GapsToo much information, not enough clarity on who or what to believe.
45:00 – Closed AI Systems & ControlWhat it means to limit AI to trusted data sources.
53:00 – Practical Use Case: Right-to-Know RequestsAI’s potential to transform labor-intensive work.
54:30 – The Future: Utopia or Skynet?Each host reflects on what the next 10 years could look like.
Get full access to MuniSquare at munisquare.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Hosts Dave Pribulka, Eden Ratliff & Brandon Ford (with Executive Producer, Nancy J Hess)The summary you are about to read is mostly from AI; however, I did take the time to create the prompt! And tell it that I wanted to emphasize that this is a serious, important but also, very funny podcast episode!
I curated the moments that I thought stood out… and there so many, that my main recommendation, if you have a leadership team, is to have everyone listen to this episode and then come together and discuss what this all means for your work together.
The mood shifts from utopian to dystopian to …. “wait, we are here in this moment as this whole thing is unfolding...how can we know?”
MuniSquare is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Mike Baumwoll is the CEO and founder of Rep’d (short for Represented), the first AI communications platform built specifically for local government. Before launching Rep’d, Mike and his business partner spent a combined 15 years at Twitter, where they witnessed firsthand how misinformation, trolls, and social media dynamics corrode public trust in institutions. That experience led them to build something different — a tool designed to close the education gap between what residents think their government does and what it actually does, by humanizing the people who do the work.
In this episode, Mike joins Dave Pribulka, Eden Ratliff, and Brandon Ford to bat around how AI is already inside your organization whether you invited it or not, what it means to have a “human lens” on AI-generated work, the data integrity problem and the staggering scale of global data creation, and the difference between open AI systems (temperature 10 — the whole internet) and closed-circuit environments (temperature zero — only what you feed it).
The episode is candid, curious, and occasionally very funny — exactly the conversation local government professionals need to be having right now.
“If you are a manager and you’re not using AI and you’re not having that AI conversation with your teams, folks on your teams are using it. They’re paying for their own subscriptions. It’s happening whether you’re ready or not.” — Eden Ratliff
"There should always be a human lens. The moment that we stop telling stories, stop informing and creating a human environment to connect, is where we lose." — Mike Baumwoll
"And by the way, Mike — why should we trust you?" — Dave Pribulka (cutting to the heart of the AI vendor credibility question)
“"You should probably ask AI how to integrate AI.” — Brandon Ford
Chapters
00:00 – Reunion & Reset (Season 2… maybe?)The group reconnects after a hiatus
02:00 – Guest Introduction: Mike BaumwollAI, local government communication, and the “education gap” between residents and government.
04:30 – What Is AI (Really)?From Turing to today—framing the moment and the pace of change.
09:40 – The Reality: You Don’t Get to Opt OutAI is already embedded in operations whether leaders acknowledge it or not.
12:00 – Authenticity vs. AutomationEmails, reports, and the subtle erosion (or evolution) of human voice.
16:00 – What AI Communications Actually MeansMike explains practical applications: drafts, insights, and resident interaction tools.
18:00 – The Runaway Train QuestionSpeed, unpredictability, and whether local government can realistically “control” AI.
21:30 – The Human Element DebateCan AI enhance connection, or does it risk replacing it?
26:30 – AI as a Draft, Not a Decision MakerA key framing emerges: AI as a first pass, not the final word.
33:30 – Data, Trust, and the Scale ProblemMassive data growth and the challenge of filtering truth from noise.
42:00 – Training Fatigue & Trust GapsToo much information, not enough clarity on who or what to believe.
45:00 – Closed AI Systems & ControlWhat it means to limit AI to trusted data sources.
53:00 – Practical Use Case: Right-to-Know RequestsAI’s potential to transform labor-intensive work.
54:30 – The Future: Utopia or Skynet?Each host reflects on what the next 10 years could look like.
Get full access to MuniSquare at munisquare.substack.com/subscribe