A friend of mine once took a job working for the state. It was temporary, the kind of role that comes and goes, but it left a lasting impression. He worked under the IT Department, tasked with designing a better, easier-to-use system for social workers to track their cases. This was a long time ago—back when technology was just beginning to reshape daily life but still had its limits.
The urgency was clear: social workers were overwhelmed, especially in larger cities. They struggled to keep...