Building a People-First, AI-Powered City

Throughout history, new technologies have triggered people’s fears, often arriving cloaked in controversy around the threat to society. Now it is AI’s turn. While the concerns are justified and deserve to be addressed, history also tells us a broader truth: while technological change can cause disruption, it also unlocks enormous opportunity. This is the story now unfolding in cities around the world.

To understand how cities are using AI and leveraging it for the public good, ThoughtLab, a leading global research firm, partnered with urban leaders from government, business and academia on a benchmarking survey of 525 officials across 214 cities. This was supplemented by an analysis of 212 published city AI plans, and interviews with more than 50 urban experts, covering 331 municipalities across every region and level of development.

What we found is real momentum: city leaders see AI not just as an efficiency tool, but as a way to make government more, not less, human. That starts with linking data across departments, so cities can replace fragmented, reactive processes with coordinated action. Residents no longer need to…