Recoding America: Understanding Government Failure in the Digital Age with Jennifer Pahlka
In this episode, we are joined by Jennifer Pahlka, a businesswoman and political advisor, as we explore the reasons behind government failures in the digital age and how we can overcome them. Jennifer's latest book, "Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better," offers a comprehensive examination of government failure, particularly in the realm of technology.
Drawing on her extensive experience in delivering government services digitally, Jennifer sheds light on the complexities and dysfunctionality of government computer systems that have accumulated over time due to outdated technologies and policies. She also addresses how the government has struggled to adapt to the digital age, often leading to online services that fall short of achieving their intended outcomes.
Join us as we uncover the obstacles that hinder government agencies from effectively leveraging digital technology to enhance service delivery to citizens. Jennifer's book aligns with the broader movement towards abundance, emphasizing the need for simplification as a solution to government failure and advocating for faster and more efficient systems.
Don't miss out on this episode filled with valuable insights! Gain a deeper understanding of why it's crucial to rethink our approach of merely transferring the current government onto new technology, and instead explore what it would mean to fundamentally refactor the American government.
Get Jennifer’s book HERE: https://www.recodingamerica.us/
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About Jennifer Pahlka:
Jennifer is the founder of Code for America and was the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the Obama administration where she launched the U.S. Digital Service. Previously she worked at CMP Media with various roles in the computer game industry. She also was the co-chair and general manager of the Web 2.0 conferences. In 2020, she was appointed to a task group to restore the state’s unemployment insurance program when it collapsed due to multiple increases in claims during the Covid pandemic.
Topics:
🎙️ Welcome Jennifer Pahlka to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00)
🔧 How Jennifer got into Code for America, government & tech: (00:01:42)
🌐 Process to build the civic tech ecosystem: (00:04:48)
📖 Why did Jennifer start to write Recoding America?: (00:10:35)
🚫 Why is the government failing and about deep level issues: (00:13:57)
📚 Simplifying laws, is that part of the solution?: (00:17:59)
💡 Examples of people that are trying to refactor the laws: (00:20:27)
⏩ How else can we build more quickly?: (00:22:47)
🔍 Who digitizes the government the best and how can we learn from them?: (00:28:02)
🌟 How does Jennifer's book relate to the more general movement about abundance; less vetocracy energy?: (00:31:51)
🎯 Caring about the implementation of outcomes: (00:38:06)
💪 Advice for ambitious frontier persons who are looking to get into technology and make government better: (00:42:06)
🤔 Overrated and underrated questions: (00:43:55)
Mentioned resources:
Electrify by Saul Griffith - https://www.rewiringamerica.org/electrify-the-book
Connect with Jennifer Pahlka:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pahlkadot?ref_src
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pahlkadot/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pahlkadot/
Connect with Rhys:
https://twitter.com/RhysLindmark
https://twitter.com/roote_
https://twitter.com/RhysShow
