Adam RollinsArtificial intelligence (AI) integration in government systems has become a flurished in recent years as cities have redoubledadoption efforts to support modernization, cost reduction and enhanced security. To that end, six U.S. cities have joined an international alliance to access technical support designed to accelerate and elevate data and AI innovation.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance is a conglomeration of cities across the Americas with populations of 100,000 or more seeking to modernize services through emerging technologies. The alliance provides a network of public officials, industry leaders and experts dedicated to achieving the same goal — using data analytics and AI to guide policy, enhance decision-making, develop solutions and drive progress.
The cities inducted into the organization include:
- Austin.
- Boston.
- Dallas.
- Denver.
- Kansas City.
- Newport News, Virginia.
The program helps mayors and their teams with emerging technology to instruct and guide real-world problem-solving. AI technologies are a breakthrough in municipal modernization,
empowering cities to proactively anticipate problems and allocate resources as needed to deliver the best results. Their impact is both tangible and versatile, capable of enhancing every sector and streamlining solutions to create housing, reduce homelessness, mitigate gun violence, design city layouts and more.
Currently, manual processes are a significant detractor to government efficiency, costing U.S. government agencies $38.7 billion annually on average. Reliance on paper-based processes are rampant throughout America, ultimately reinforcing tedious bureaucratic systems and costing residents money, according to the alliance. The alliance’s ultimate goal is to ensure cities can apply the right technologies in the right way to achieve meaningful results.
The six cities will join others already included in the alliance, including Baltimore, Seattle and Tampa and several others. These partners have already implemented AI-powered methods that have yielded promising outcomes.
Baltimore has launched an online data training program to upskill more than 500 city employees. The city also developed a group violence reduction strategy that has already seen a 33% drop in homicides in one of its most violent areas.
Seattle has created a citywide data strategy designed to accelerate assistance programs, improve police recruitments and streamline housing applications. The system’s implementation has cut down application times by 500%. Data-driven practices have been more widely integrated into the city’s operations, resulting in accurate digital permitting and a more effective police force.
Tamps has streamlined deployment of emergency service and resources by identifying areas impacted by hurricanes. The city previously used real-time data to provide critical updates during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, enabling workers to remove 1 million cubic yards of debris and massive amounts of waste each day. The city met the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s deadline for removal three days early — a result achieved through the utilization of cutting-edge technologies.
Photo by Robert Hensley, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
