For years, scholarly interest in the intersection of government and technology has overwhelmingly focused on the end-product of technology capabilities. Recent advancements in computational power have facilitated breathtaking growth of data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and process automation, sparking considerable attention by scholars and practitioners alike. However, insight concerning the technology hardware assets powering emergent applications in the public sector remains glaringly absent amidst this rapidly expanding area of research. We position that gaining a greater understanding of the scope of technology utility in governance requires exploration of not only the applications or interfaces produced by technology hardware, but rather the aim of promoting both modernity and processing capacity of the hardware driving technology in government.
Evidence for practice• Rapid advancements in technological processing power yield tantalizing possibilities for application, along with questions concerning availability and accessibility. • Disparities between municipal, state, and federal government technology hardware capabilities represent a barrier toward broader adaptation of emergent applications. • Modernization of technology hardware across all levels of government necessitates careful budgetary considerations, informational awareness, as well as environmentally conscious sustainability practices.