AI meets local government: Is Plaquemine paving the way?

Baton Rouge tech firm Obney.ai has entered into a partnership with the city of Plaquemine aimed at modernizing local government operations through the use of artificial intelligence.

In collaboration with the South Central Planning and Development Commission, the company will work to bring next-generation technology to the city’s day-to-day municipal functions.

Obney.ai founder and CEO Justin Obney tells Daily Report that the agreement represents a “first-of-its-kind” partnership in Louisiana.

“What we’re doing here is bringing in a lot more AI, both from an operational perspective as well as an educational perspective, into local government,” Obney says.

Under the partnership, Obney.ai will serve as an “AI adoption facilitator” for Plaquemine, working to identify and implement AI tools that streamline city operations. While SCPDC is providing the core software infrastructure, the role of Obney.ai is to build out that framework by educating city employees on how to integrate AI tools effectively and safely into their workflows.

“It’s not just about bringing in tooling and software,” Obney says. “It’s really about helping the staff understand what it’s going to mean to operate in the AI era.”

Among the partnership’s deliverables are tools that will help the city identify grant opportunities, transcribe and summarize council meetings and enable residents to more easily navigate code enforcement, permitting and inspections.

According to Obney, the partnership underscores a larger statewide push to position Louisiana as a leader in the AI space.

“This aligns with everything going on in the state right now,” he says. “You have Meta bringing in an AI data center. You have LA.IO happening at the state level. And then we’re also trying to work with LSU in its AI honors class. It’s really a ‘Louisiana all the way’ feel that we’re going for to ultimately benefit the state as a whole.”

Obney.ai was founded by Obney in 2023 as a consulting firm with a focus on AI implementation and strategy. The company has since grown to a five-person team and is now actively working to expand its impact in both the public and private sectors.

Plaquemine Mayor JB Barker was the one to propose the partnership to the city’s Board of Selectmen, which approved the contracts with Obney.ai and SCPDC. In a statement, he says he’s excited about the benefits the city will reap from the innovative agreement.

“This provides us with services we need to operate more efficiently, and uses the latest technology to improve our city,” Barker says.