Now, more than ever, we are facing a time where we need to strengthen institutions and the ability for AI to inform our decision. In face of COVID-19, AI has the ability to track and trace development much more quickly, and as this shapes the world, will continue to do so beyond the pandemic. We want to work on strengthening these capacities.

"Contrary to much of the literature’s fixation on the procurement of algorithms through private contracting, over half of applications (84 use cases, or 53%) were built in-house, suggesting there is substantial creative appetite within agencies." (1)

Following a three-year study on how city agencies innovate conducted across dozens of New York City (NYC) agencies by 30 researchers from 22 research centers and 10 different universities, the "Smarter New York City: How City Agencies Innovate" (2) book (Columbia University Press, 2018) maps the innovation ecosystem sprawling from within the City of New York and describes the drivers and constraints behind urban innovation, as well as the unique role public entrepreneurs play in making urban systems smarter and shaping life in NYC.

To become smarter, city administrations and municipalities need to deepen their understanding of how AI can help them design and implement the type of innovation agendas and operations 21th Century’s urban development requires. It is an ethical imperative that lessons learned from more resourceful cities, such as NYC, be shared and disseminated nationally and globally.

(1) https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ACUS-AI-Report.pdf (p. 18, accessed March 24th, 2020)
(2) https://cup.columbia.edu/book/smarter-new-york-city/9780231183758 (accessed March 24th, 2020)

“Smarter New York City: How City Agencies Use Artificial Intelligence” is an initiative to:
1. Map AI tools and techniques developed by/with city agencies and units;
2. Build a community of public entrepreneurs working in the AI field for learning and dissemination of best practices;
3. Foster collaboration and integration of AI tools, techniques, skills and knowledge to help the City of New York implement and expand its AI agenda and maintain a “smarter city” pathway;
4. Celebrate public entrepreneurship to raise societal awareness of the pioneering role city agencies and municipalities play in shaping the future of life in cities, pay a tribute to top public entrepreneurs, help build an adaptable, motivated and autonomous community of public entrepreneurs, and help attract talent to professional careers in the public sector.

A CALL TO MAP AI DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
We are asking public entrepreneurs, city government professionals, academics, private developers and other experts to nominate AI tools and help us map this emerging NYC urban innovation ecosystem.    

Please use the short form below to briefly describe the AI project, tool or technique you want to nominate for our initiative by October 31st. As a symbolic token of appreciation for your time and collaboration we’ll mail you a copy of our book once your submission has been validated (please express your preference in the submission form below).