Smart City in the Evolving Context of AI

Ted Ross, Chief Information Officer & General Manager (Information Technology Agency) at City of Los Angeles

Through this article, Ted, aims to convey the importance of embracing technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in transforming urban environments and addressing the unique challenges faced by modern cities. He also highlights the significance of technology in improving the lives of residents by enhancing digital services, data-driven decision-making and overall urban planning.

68 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities by the year 2050. That means the fate of humanity is closely connected to the fate of urban areas. And while living in cities has many benefits, it also comes with unique and substantial challenges. To meet them, the city government in Los Angeles and all over the world, seek tools that will positively transform our urban environment; and among them, the most promising tool is technology. Technology is unmatched in its ability to reach and engage with residents in every sector of the population. Technology is flexible and highly configurable, adapting easily to changing urban environments. Finally, technology improves itself by leaps and bounds every year. In other words, when done right, technology makes us ‘smarter.’ This is why the City of Los Angeles strives to be a ‘smart city.’ And while this term is imperfect, and often overused by IT industry sales teams, it is still the best term to convey the importance of technology to improve the lives of LA’s residents.

However, not all technologies are equal. The City of Los Angeles has learned that a smart city must be multi-faceted and made up of several technology components (digital services, data tools, digital inclusion, etc.) not just IT infrastructure. Smart cities are evolving, requiring both near-term and long-term technology goals. Smart cities require diverse resident and business participation. This doesn’t happen by accident; it requires careful strategic planning and technology investments. When done right, these technologies deliver many key benefits. They give governments the ability to influence the urban landscape (e.g. re-routing traffic to avoid road closures). They enable data-driven decision making for effective city planning. They create highly accessible services that can be used 24/7 by diverse communities. From public safety to environmental sustainability, technology plays a critical role in identifying, mitigating, and resolving urban issues, with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) even changing the art of the possible.

Quickly arising as one of the greatest technology opportunities and challenges for smart cities will be the use of AI. AI is becoming ubiquitous, and everyone is affected, whether they know it or not. Our nation has fundamentally become digital, connected and online. 90 percent of American adults use smartphones, 73 percent are active on social media and the average household has 17 connected devices; and all of these platforms are leveraging AI. ChatGPT is another example, instantly becoming the fastest growing software application in human history, gaining 100 million users within the first two months, and challenging social and legal standards for academic work, intellectual property and the role of human/computer interactions in society.

Smart cities are more than a trend. Utilizing tools like AI, they can be the next great evolution of modern cities to help humanity prosper.

The ability of AI technology tools to perceive, reason, problem solve, learn and communicate can dramatically improve the interconnection of sensors, infrastructure and digital services that make up a smart city. The smart cities of tomorrow will be using powerful machine-to-machine (M2M) integrations that will automatically and reliably adapt to the changing urban landscape (e.g. traffic is dynamically optimized by sensors and traffic signals during rush hour). This automation requires AI. Used effectively and ethically, AI tools will optimize mobility (shorter commutes, less pollution), automate issue detection (potholes, graffiti), facilitate lower housing costs and better neighborhood planning, detect fraud and waste (saving taxpayer money), automate reduce city operational costs, and disaster response (saving lives)! AI promises to be transformational for how governments can serve their diverse communities to make it better to live, work and play in their cities.

However, as Americans have become increasingly digital, they have also become increasingly distrustful of digital technology (often with good reason). By definition, AI tools represent the ability of digital software to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. This description alludes to both the immense benefits that AI can provide a smart city and the terrifying consequences if used incorrectly. From privacy concerns to data breaches, Americans are concerned that the innovations they use daily will have profoundly negative impacts on their lives. These anxieties have become so prominent that the word “techlash” (technology backlash) was officially added to the English dictionary. This anxiety is only increasing with every new technological innovation, and AI is no exception.

As governments that heavily use technology to serve our growing communities, we must emphasize the importance of digital services that are both innovative and ethical. In my opinion, AI should not be feared and should not be oversold: it should be understood, tested, and utilized with all of the necessary safeguards to protect the humans that live there. ‘Smart cities’ are more than a trend. Utilizing tools like AI, they can be the next great evolution of modern cities to help humanity prosper.