This talk draws on Dr. Sieber's research at the intersection of tech and civic engagement. This interest developed in her dissertation with PhD supervisor Lyna Wiggins, who emphasized local adoption by planners of GIS, which at the time was hard! Throughout her career, she has been driven to investigate the potential for civic engagement using hard tech, especially as the discourse moves towards tech as the engine of innovation, for example in smart cities. In this she will draw on her six years co-hosting Al in Canadian Municipalities Community of Practice as well as 20+ years researching public participation GIS.