We’re at a critical inflection point.

Not just because AI is getting faster.

Not just because automation is getting smarter.

But because—for the first time in a generation—we have a real opportunity to ask:

What comes next?

And more importantly:

Who gets to decide?

**The Last Era of Tech Was Built for Efficiency. The Next One Should Be Built for Impact.**

For decades, digital tools have been designed to support global platforms, enterprise scale, and shareholder value. Many of the systems we use today were optimized for volume—not relevance. Reach—not resonance.

But something’s shifting.

For local governments, nonprofits, and small businesses—especially in places like New Mexico—there’s a new opportunity to rethink how we build, adopt, and govern the technology that’s becoming central to our daily lives.

Not just because we can.

But because we must.

Because what we build next will define:

* How people interact with public services

* How teams collaborate across departments

* How communities access resources

* And how humans stay centered in systems increasingly shaped by machine intelligence

**Designing What Comes Next—With Intention**

The future won’t be built with abstract ideals. It’ll be built with decisions.

* What systems we choose

* How we train people on them

* What values we encode into the way our tools behave

* And how we decide which problems deserve to be solved in the first place

We can’t afford to default to systems that were never built with our communities in mind.

Designing what comes next requires us to step out of reaction mode and into design mode.

To ask:

* Are we adopting tools that solve our problems—or just tools that are trending?

* Are we designing around real-world constraints—or relying on generic playbooks?

* Are we building systems that extend the wisdom of our teams—or replace it?

**Local Relevance Is Not a Limitation—It’s a Design Advantage**

The beauty of this moment is that the tools are more flexible than ever.

AI can be localized.

Interfaces can be personalized.

Processes can be built to reflect the nuance of your team, your agency, your community.

What was once expensive and rigid is now adaptable and accessible.

That means you don’t have to wait for someone else to build what you need.

You can help design it—now.

**Moving from Users to Co-Creators**

In the last chapter, most communities were passive users of systems designed elsewhere.

In this next chapter, we have the opportunity to become co-creators.

To speak up when something doesn’t work.

To shape procurement conversations with clarity and values.

To guide developers and vendors toward what’s actually useful—not just what’s available.

Because no tool can replace the local knowledge, practical experience, and human intuition that lives inside your organization.

And if the tech being deployed doesn’t reflect those things?

It’s not serving your future. It’s just repeating someone else’s past.

**Final Thought**

The question isn’t, “How do we keep up with technology?”

The question is:

“How do we use this moment to design what comes next—on purpose?”

Not for scale. Not for buzz. Not just for efficiency.

But for resilience.

For accessibility.

For outcomes that actually matter.

Because the next wave of technology isn’t going to wait for anyone.

But it will respond to the people brave enough—and curious enough—to shape it.