While AI use is enhancing the world of work for individual contributors across industries and organizations, its potential as an engine for driving positive change within an entire city or metropolitan area is not talked about enough. The AI of tomorrow powers systems that impact the lives of millions. In fact, from traffic control to energy distribution, forward-thinking governments have already driven macro-results. The cities that succeed in the next decade will be the ones that stop experimenting and start implementing AI at scale, not in isolated pilots, but in core urban systems.
This use of AI is applicable to the development and expansion of smart cities – a rapidly growing approach to improving quality of life, efficiency, safety, competitiveness and services in metropolitan areas across the globe. Smart cities embed digital technology like IoT (Internet of Things) and big data analytics into public infrastructure, systems and services.
The successful use cases of smart city solutions already span the globe from major cities in Europe and the United States to developing nations across South East Asia and beyond. The AI technology driving these results is unique both in its nature and its deployment requirements, meaning that governments and technology partners are leading the AI charge with some of the most dynamic and creative digital transformation strategies.
Today’s smart city results are global
The impact and potential of smart cities is expansive. By the end of this year, over 500 cities across the globe are projected to adopt digital twin technology—an AI-powered smart city-solution—with the potential to drive efficiencies saving of $280 billion, according to ABI Research.
Already, Amsterdam has driven energy efficiency results using this technology which simulates city behaviors and outcomes leveraging virtual replicas of objects and systems powered by real-time data. And South Africa’s capital city Pretoria has leveraged digital twin technology to improve its waste management services driving systematic optimization and energy efficiencies. Smart cities are no longer a prestige project for the wealthy few, they are becoming a competitive necessity. Nations that fail to adopt these technologies risk falling behind in attracting investment, talent and tourism.
Cities have begun tackling their biggest challenges and are addressing legacy problems to reinvent the experience of residents and visitors.
Known globally for its traffic, Los Angeles has used smart city solutions to reduce car travel time by 10 percent by leveraging automated traffic surveillance to inform traffic signal control across 4,500 connected intersections. The broader initiative by the city involved the implementation of physical technology like sensors, hardware assets and wireless or wired communications devices to drive connectivity across urban Los Angeles. The initiative also drove sanitation results bring the number of unclean streets down by 82 percent, especially notable in a city with 6,500 miles of roads.
On the other side of the globe, the city of Varanasi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has a deep history of navigating the inflow of people. Regarded as a spiritual hub for centuries, the city today draws tens of millions of visitors per year, with the number exceeding 110 million in 2024. The immense crowd management and security needs of such a visitor volume have driven investment in AI solutions with plans in place for AI to address challenges and improve experiences.
The results and opportunities of AI-powered smart city solution deployment are wide-ranging with additional focus areas including:
- Enhancing public safety
- Expanding digital public infrastructure
- Launching new tourism initiatives
- Developing cutting-edge education programs
The technology and strategy behind the smart city are dynamic
The AI used in these initiatives faces unique challenges and opportunities and has differentiated capability requirements from AI tools embedded in businesses and workflows.
A key aspect distinct to smart city expansion is the need for both hardware and software to be deployed in tandem. The AI technology most relevant in this case is Edge AI, a type of AI in which the processing and analysis of data happens directly on the device, rather than being sent to a remote server in the cloud.
Cities therefore are investing in Edge AI-powered video and surveillance technology, deploying hardware and software in tandem to super-power systems and processes. This unique need distinguishes smart city solutions from the workforce efficiency and analytics AI tools being deployed within businesses across the world. In practice, deploying smart city AI is less about glossy dashboards and more about trench work: laying fiber, securing permissions, integrating legacy systems and training operators to trust machine-driven insights.
And, the on-the-ground nature of smart city solutions extends the support needs of cities beyond addressing the tandem physical-digital implementation challenge. Smart cities uniquely need deployment of “grassroots AI” which refers to bringing AI into institutions as a core part of its systems. Smart city infrastructure works best when built from the ground up, rather than layered on top of existing processes and systems.
A nimble, flexible approach to complex problem-solving best positions governments and their technology partners to succeed in implementing this dynamic, cutting-edge innovation.
The smart city future is bright
With results accruing, AI-powered smart city solutions are poised for rapid, global growth. And the technology providers partnering with governments and cities have evolved to meet the demand. Initially built on a project-to-project basis, smart city technology has scaled and smart city SaaS offerings have become available enabling faster results and wider deployment.
Expect in the coming years for AI to continue revolutionizing urban operations, bolstering security and enhancing resilience. The winners will be the cities that treat AI not as an add-on to existing systems, but as the foundation of their governance, resilience and identity. Within a decade, residents will not just live in cities, they will interact with them as intelligent, responsive partners. By harnessing the power of AI in intelligent video surveillance, facial recognition, license plate recognition, edge computing, post-event analytics and advanced cybersecurity technologies, city governments are poised to drive better lives for those who call those cities home.
