About the Session

Join the City of White Rock and Gravity Union as they share a practical look at what it takes to put Microsoft’s AI toolkit to work in a real municipal context.

Together, they explored how to unlock more value from recreational data by building an AI chat interface that lets teams ask questions in plain language. From understanding what draws out of city residents to comparing participation trends and uncovering registration patterns, this approach makes data easier to explore and act on.

This session dives into what it really takes to get started: 

• Setting teams up to explore AI as a learning journey
• Creating a safe, focused environment for experimentation
• Balancing curiosity with controlled investment
• The real challenges and wins of working with data and AI

Expect an honest look at the decisions behind the work and what meaningful progress actually looks like. The session is interactive, with space for discussion around privacy, risk, data readiness, and how to move forward before big claims of transformation or ROI.

Presenters

Brian Edwards,
Director of Artificial Intelligence, Gravity Union

Brian leads Gravity Union’s team and customers to adapt and leverage Artificial Intelligence within their work and processes. Brian began his career where, after a short time as a bank branch manager, he moved into corporate roles as trainer and corporate intranet owner – developing a passion for helping front-line workers. He scaled this passion by starting a content and collaboration practice on Microsoft’s SharePoint – also working as an advisor to Microsoft to mature the platform and bring the power of collaboration to the market – building an award-winning and highly admired practice. He led numerous product and services teams to launch new products and offerings around both Microsoft and around customer and employee service experiences. He’s now thrilled to stay at the forefront of emerging technology and build a world that’s better with AI. He publishes a newsletter about AI ethics, called allofhushumans and is a certified coach.

Jia Jia,
GIS Specialist, City of White Rock

Jia Jia is a GIS Specialist at the City of White Rock with over 10 years of professional GIS experience. He studied Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and worked as a GIS Assistant with Transit Realty Associates in Boston, the real estate partner supporting the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). He later earned an Advanced GIS Diploma from BCIT and now delivers enterprise GIS services across multiple municipal departments in White Rock. His work includes GIS mapping, application development, and the automation of geospatial workflows to support daily operations and long-term planning. More recently, he has expanded into data science and AI, developing data pipelines and AI-driven solutions to support municipal operations and decision-making.