How is AI making cities smarter?
From improving resilience and sustainability to promoting effective governance, AI stands as a cornerstone in constructing the cities of tomorrow.
With a projected market volume of $165.80 billion by 2028, it's apparent that cities are poised to get smarter, and AI is the crucial factor enabling this change.
Here are four main questions to address when we talk about AI’s role in making cities smarter:
How can cities be resilient and sustainable?
Effective planning is crucial in making a city resilient and sustainable, and digital twins can play a key role in the process.
For instance, a failed governance attempt that could have been prevented with digital twins was Barcelona's superblocks. While well-intentioned in creating car-free zones, they fell short by neglecting the potential impact on surrounding areas, resulting in a failure to reduce pollution.
Digital twins emerge as a holistic digital representation of a city, incorporating factors such as traffic flow, population density, and weather. Through simulating various scenarios and tweaking variables, city planners can proactively tackle potential challenges, enhancing their approach to urban development.
From Helsinki to Las Vegas and beyond, cities are adopting digital twins, such as Singapore, which is investing $73 million in its data-rich replica. By leveraging extensive datasets and advanced simulations, these cities can predict outcomes before the ground is broken.
Now, even Barcelona is adapting to this trend. Powered by the MareNostrum supercomputer at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia's historic Torre Girona chapel, a digital twin is being tested that is set to be operational by 2027.
What is the citizen experience?
Moving from planning the city to the city’s inhabitants, the next question is about the citizen experience. A key part of making any city smart.
Traditionally, the approach toward citizen experience has been technology-focused; however, we need to go beyond it. Take Singapore as an example.
By 2030, one in four individuals in Singapore will be over 65, highlighting the pressing need to address their unique challenges.
Rather than straight away suggesting solutions like sensor-enabled homes, a more holistic understanding of the elderly population's challenges revealed three core issues: injuries from falls, loneliness, and car accidents. Singapore responded by designing smart homes and strategically placing senior citizen homes near playgrounds and parks to alleviate loneliness, creating an intergenerational approach.
For the younger demographic, India serves as an exemplary model with their UPI (Unified Payments Interface), boasting an integrated system involving identity, payments infrastructure, and accessible mobile technology. This trifecta empowers citizens to engage with the digital economy effectively.
Hence, keeping in mind the citizens' needs and addressing them efficiently is a core step in planning smart cities.
How does one govern these cities?
The next logical question is governance, which has two crucial aspects;
surveillance and data privacy,
and the importance of effective communication.
Cities like New York and London accelerated surveillance post-9/11 for security, collaborating with tech giants like Microsoft. However, ethical data use is crucial, as seen in Toronto's Sidewalk Labs project, where the initiative aimed to enhance energy consumption efficiency through smart lighting. Data privacy concerns emerged when all the data collected was sent back to servers in the US. Citizens protested this lack of data localization, emphasizing the necessity of protecting their data and ensuring it stays within the country.
Moreover, effective communication in AI governance is vital. Singapore openly communicated the purpose of Boston Dynamics' robot dog patrolling parks during the pandemic. In contrast, New York's lack of clear communication about a similar robot for threat assessment led to public misunderstanding, causing a system shutdown. Transparent governance is critical for AI and robot implementations, ensuring public trust in technology's purpose and function.
Are cities going to eventually become hybrid cities?
A noteworthy transition ongoing, linked to the 3.24 billion gamers around the world as of 2021, is the transition to hybrid cities.
In virtual worlds and games, individuals actively engage in social and economic activities, buying and selling virtual goods. A hybrid city allows participation in both the physical and virtual realms, a concept akin to the "metaverse."
For example, with over 70% of the population engaged in gaming, South Korea's substantial gaming culture has propelled the government to embrace the concept. Their Mayor maintains a virtual office, encouraging citizens to access government services digitally.
South Korea also launched the first stage of their Metaverse Seoul project last year, a digital replica of the capital city. It allows users to submit official documents and complaints while also enabling them to get tax and business queries answered. Or they can simply visit a few historical sites and enjoy sightseeing virtually. The project is expected to be completed in 2026, with two more phases planned.
The quality of these hybrid experiences is improving as well. The metaverse, evolving beyond whimsical avatars, now features realistic avatars powered by AI. These avatars blur the lines between digital and physical, capturing nuanced expressions and nonverbal cues and transforming human communication profoundly.
This trend prompts reflection on the essence of a city. Imagining a future city constructed from scratch, offering residents a metaverse existence without physical presence, work permits, or accommodations, raises intriguing questions about urban life's potential transformation.
The way forward
Looking ahead, the sustainability of smart cities emerges as a crucial focus. Though data-driven technologies and AI enhance urban life, they pose a challenge due to their significant energy demands, with about 1% of global electricity dedicated to powering data centers. Addressing this amid the climate crisis is vital for the future of smart cities.
Innovative solutions include immersive cooling techniques, such as submerging hardware in liquids. Microsoft is pioneering by submerging entire data centers underwater, as exemplified in New Zealand. Google leverages AI to enhance cooling efficiency, striving for 100% carbon-free data centers by 2030. Energy wastage is tackled by reusing data center waste for home heating, as seen in Europe with Facebook's initiatives.
The evolution of smart cities aims for resilient, efficient living environments. In the shift to physical-digital hybrid settings, responsible governance of AI and data is paramount to prevent manipulation, bias, and unsustainability. Hence, staying informed about AI's impact on urban landscapes and advocating for responsible and sustainable AI use ensures enjoying the benefits while safeguarding rights and the environment.
