Across the US and around the world, local governments are getting a feel for how AI can help them do more with less, make better decisions, and improve their services. Only 2% of local governments are currently using AI, but more than two-thirds are exploring its potential, according to an October 2023 Bloomberg Philanthropies survey.
Localities are now conducting risk assessments and writing policy guidelines to clear the path to responsible AI usage. The 10 use cases in this article illustrate AI’s potential to help local governments rethink and improve the critical services they provide.
How Important Is AI in Local Government?
Facing tight budgets and staffing shortages, local governments see artificial intelligence as a way to cut costs while maintaining or improving service levels. For example, AI-based chatbots can help government employees get answers to their basic payroll, onboarding, benefits, and other questions without waiting for help or taking up the time of finance, HR, and other personnel. Additionally, AI-driven self-service tools can make it easier for citizens to find information and use public services—for example, learning the steps required to acquire a building permit.
Many local governments already use cloud applications to accelerate various processes. When such applications are updated with AI capabilities, they not only work faster, but, thanks to AI’s ability to process large data sets, can also identify patterns and deliver insights that help improve service. Pittsburgh’s traffic management system uses AI to analyze key intersections in real time. With these insights, managers can adjust traffic signals to optimize vehicle flow and reduce engine idle time, part of the city’s plan to cut transportation-related greenhouse gasses 50% by 2030.
What Are the Benefits of AI in Local Government?
AI helps local governments operate more efficiently. It not only accelerates service delivery, but it also yields a deeper, more nuanced understanding of community needs. Additionally, it can also automate and simplify routine administrative tasks, saving time and precious funds, and perform sophisticated data analyses to help public managers make smarter decisions. More below on the three main benefits.
Faster citizen services
About 98% of governments think citizens prefer to engage them via new technologies, according to 2024 research by professional services firm Avanade. AI-based natural language chatbots let citizens get quick answers to their questions about local services, make service requests, share ideas for improvements, and give feedback on government performance.
For example, Phoenix created myPHX311, a web portal and app that answers common questions in both Spanish and English and connects people to local agencies for additional help. First designed to give faster access to the city’s payment portal and its water and waste disposal services, myPHX311 is now also an easy way to request various public records, start or stop water service, and report graffiti, streetlight outages, property violations, and more. Like Pittsburgh and other cities, Cambridge, Massachusetts, uses AI analytics to reduce traffic gridlock. The City of Wentzville, Missouri, is piloting generative AI tools to automate most city communications, thus providing timelier information to its residents.
Higher productivity
Over the next several years, AI will help government employees do their jobs faster and better. By automatically pulling data from across agencies and departments, AI can expedite routine processes and free employees from time-consuming, error-prone manual work.
Local governments are already seeing the benefits of AI for productivity. In Washington, DC, for example, city workers use an AI system to analyze video that helps them inspect 1,800 miles of sewer pipes. Manually reporting on an hour’s worth of video used to take 75 minutes, but automated inspections now take only 10 minutes. Wilmington, Delaware, uses AI to provide targeted ads on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and other sites to prod people to pay late bills, sparing employees the time and discomfort of more manual collection methods while helping the city recover $1.1 million in unpaid water bills alone.
More proactive decision-making and long-term planning
Data analytics tools powered by AI algorithms improve decision-making and long-term planning, resulting in more efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Per the 2023 Bloomberg Philanthropies survey, 58% of cities are exploring generative AI’s potential applications for data analysis and 76% for data-driven policymaking. Local governments will rely on AI to help get in front of community trends and forecast service demand, as well as upgrading urban planning and development, public safety and law enforcement, energy management, and more.
For example, cities can use Internet of Things sensors linked to AI systems to monitor energy consumption in public buildings and other infrastructure, helping optimize usage and predict future demand. To bolster law enforcement, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is using NICE Justice, an AI-supported tool that processes and stores digital evidence—photos, videos, and documents of all kinds—much more efficiently, enabling the district attorney’s office to move on cases with fewer delays.
10 Use Cases for AI in Local Government
Local government leaders think AI has the biggest potential to improve services in traffic and transportation (34%), infrastructure (24%), public safety (21%), environment and climate (21%), and public schools (18%), according to the Bloomberg Philanthropies survey. With that in mind, consider the following 10 use cases in these and other local government areas.
1.Public safety and law enforcement
AI can help police departments analyze massive amounts of data to spot public safety trends and allocate resources to head off crimes. For example, by identifying a surge in break-ins across certain neighborhoods, police can intervene earlier. The San Francisco Police Department is doing just that, using AI not only to detect threats, but also uncover links between seemingly unrelated incidents. The department’s AI-based analyses also provide insights on socio-economic factors underlying crime, helping police evaluate crime-prevention tactics and tailor community policing to every corner of the city.
Through the responsible use of video surveillance, local governments are also employing AI to enhance security in crowded venues such as football stadiums and airports. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport depends on AI-driven video tools to monitor crowd density so security managers can allocate staff more efficiently. Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport uses AI-enabled scanners so precise that airport personnel don’t require travelers to remove safe liquids and laptops from their bags, helping security lines move faster while flagging real threats.
2.Traffic management and transportation
AI is starting to help local governments optimize traffic flows. It can be used to reveal driving patterns, dynamically reset traffic signals to prevent long backups, identify roads that need repairs, and aid in scheduling road work to minimize traffic disruptions. In Australia, certain localities that, combined, manage more than 650,000 kilometers of roads are testing an AI system that provides real-time diagnostics. The system alerts them to early indications of pavement wear and tear that can result in potholes.
In Chicago, an AI-powered chatbot engages with city bus riders who want to report problems and share ideas for improvements. Meanwhile, other localities are exploring AI systems that reveal bus and subway riding patterns, predict passenger demand, schedule equipment maintenance, and recommend routing changes to reduce costs and boost revenue.
3.Citizen services
In a growing number of cities and counties, AI chatbots are providing citizens with 24/7 assistance and information. Online forums and surveys provide an easy way for governments to get feedback on public services, while AI-based automated engagement platforms analyze public sentiment on social media to inform government decision-making.
Generative AI tools can analyze public information for currency and accuracy—for example, cross-checking government websites and call center scripts to standardize answers to frequently asked questions, sometimes in several languages. Dearborn, Michigan, is exploring the use of AI translation tools to help its Arab and Hispanic populations use the city’s website. The town of Reading, Massachusetts, uses a GenAI system to create most of its public-facing communications, including press releases.
4.Urban planning and development
Urban planners are studying how AI can help them set priorities. Its advanced algorithms and high-volume data processing help analyze factors such as traffic patterns, population growth, economic trends, and environmental impacts of development projects. Pulling data from sensors, satellites, and social media platforms, AI analytics can help planners identify more efficient and sustainable ways to use public lands, build infrastructure, and manage transportation systems.
For example, Barcelona uses AI to save money on irrigation and park maintenance. Wellington, New Zealand, and Shanghai have created AI-driven digital twins, helping city planners visualize development projects and predict impacts, such as how a new sports arena will affect surrounding neighborhoods. In Sydney, Australia, AI tools are improving the mundane but important process of flagging non-compliant applications and providing instant feedback.
5.Healthcare and social services
Local governments use AI to optimize healthcare resource allocation by analyzing data on service usage and demand patterns. They also rely on AI chatbots to accelerate service delivery, answering questions on benefit eligibility, how to fill out applications, payment methods and plans, and more. On the administrative side, GenAI can summarize documents, help interpret policies and guidance, and reduce casework inventories.
Aspiranet, a nonprofit working with 30 California counties to move youth from foster care to independent living, uses an AI-based natural language processing solution that lets case managers query files across counties and find information they can apply to future cases. Also in California, Sonoma County uses an AI system to analyze anonymized patient conversations, such as those of people dealing with substance abuse. The system combs through patient databases to find new slang for drugs used, helping case workers stay current, spot red flags, and ultimately intervene.
6.Environmental monitoring and management
AI helps local governments monitor their communities for water contaminants, soil toxins, and air pollutants. Using AI to analyze data from various smart devices, governments can track air pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide faster and more accurately. Aarhus, Denmark, uses AI analytics to estimate its vendors’ carbon emissions, helping the city shift spending to more sustainable partners.
AI tools can also make waste management more efficient, helping simplify waste collection, improve recycling efforts, and identify areas with heavy littering. Montgomery County, Maryland, combines infrared technology with AI algorithms to identify plastic types for faster recycling. Miami, Florida, installed smart cameras in city dumpsters to measure and categorize waste, enhance recycling programs, and cut waste collection costs.
7.Emergency response and disaster management
Local governments can use AI to help anticipate floods, wildfires, droughts, blizzards, and other natural disasters. By sifting through reams of data faster than legacy analytics technologies, AI can help create simulations of potential future catastrophes. For example, such analysis could reveal that climate change has made certain localities more prone to flooding. AI tools can also support early warning systems by providing real-time updates on atmospheric pressure readings from weather stations.
AI can also prove useful in crisis management. By processing images from drone or helicopter cameras flying over hard-hit areas, AI analytics can provide faster, more precise reporting to jump start mitigation. In 2023, local responders used such methods when Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam was breached and when wildfires swept through Maui.
8.Financial management
Amid continued staffing shortages, governments often have trouble hiring auditors and other finance personnel. Meanwhile, the Office of the Washington State Auditor reports that human auditors detect only about 5% of fraud targeting public monies. To help local governments deal with these challenges, AI tools can quickly analyze financial reports in high volumes, flagging irregularities in invoices, payments, property assessments, and the use of grant money. These advanced capabilities can be vital, since fraudsters also have powerful AI tools at their disposal. FraudGPT—ChatGPT for grifters—makes it easier to churn out phishing emails and hack websites.
As well as facilitating audits, AI can also help local governments optimize their budgets. AI and GenAI tools can simplify budget-variance analysis, reduce costs by automating RFP and RFI creation, assist with writing budget narratives for internal and public consumption, and help governments respond to Freedom of Information Act requests and citizens’ spending questions. Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, uses an AI-enabled platform to code and process invoices, reducing standard turnaround times from a week to one or two days.
9.Community engagement
AI helps local governments analyze public sentiment on social media channels—an increasingly popular way to measure the success or failure of a program. Whether the subject is raising property taxes, building new schools through capital investment, or changing airplane flight patterns over a residential area, sentiment analysis can reveal unvarnished opinions and guide decision-making. In the Philippines, local officials depend on an AI system to analyze news and social media in both Tagalog and English, which helps them understand the public’s development priorities.
In addition, public participation platforms such as Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) and Polis use AI systems when working with local governments to solicit, analyze, and respond to feedback. Large language models help decision-makers see how opinions can shift from one neighborhood to another.
10.Education and workforce development
While it’s early days for AI-powered training and development tools, the technology shows promise in personalizing instruction based on employees’ learning styles. Some tools can even recommend improvements mid-training, taking cues from how employees interact with learning models. If an employee is having trouble understanding a topic, AI tools can provide customized content and practice exercises to support their learning.
AI-based automation can also help localities match candidates with job openings. King County, Washington, relies on such a system to get a better understanding of job requirements and candidate profiles, analyzing not only skills and experience but also intangibles such as cultural fit. Such analyses can save government recruiters time and help them find best-fit candidates. As localities strive to meet diversity and inclusion goals, such systems can also help weed out bias in government hiring decisions.
Ignite Innovation in Local Government with Oracle
Oracle state and local government solutions help localities improve public services, engage more easily with citizens, and save taxpayers money through improved back-office efficiencies. Local governments rely on Oracle to help tackle challenges in areas such as public health, grants management, traffic management and transportation, healthcare and social services, and public safety and law enforcement. Oracle Government Cloud operates cloud regions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to help governments meet local data residency, classification, operational, and security requirements. Oracle’s AI capabilities, embedded in its database platform and cloud applications—all running on a best-in-class cloud infrastructure can help local governments accomplish more with limited resources.
AI in Local Government FAQs
What are the risks of AI in local government?
The biggest risks of AI in local government come when organizations fail to follow best practices. Clear AI guidelines can help maintain data privacy, strengthen cybersecurity, and support compliance with regulations.
How can AI be used in government?
Governments can use AI to cut costs and improve services in a variety of areas, including public safety and law enforcement, emergency response, healthcare, education, and environmental monitoring.
What is generative AI in city government?
GenAI is a type of AI that cities use to automate tasks, ease workloads, and improve public services through its ability to understand language and generate content.
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