Innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming cities in unprecedented ways.
In this presentation Dr Federico Cugurullo from Trinity College Dublin will explore the connections between AI and the urban by focusing on the concept of urban AI and reflecting on its most prominent incarnations: autonomous vehicles, urban robots, city brains and urban software agents.
We will then see how the emergence of urban AI is producing a new urbanism, an AI urbanism, that originates from smart urbanism but also departs from it along three main axes, namely function, presence and agency. Empirically, Federico will draw on the findings from several international case studies to examine the repercussions of urban AI and give evidence of how the emergence of AI in cities is reshaping urban society, urban infrastructure, urban governance, urban planning and urban sustainability.
Theoretically, Federico will discuss the implications of the emergence of urban AI for urban theory and the future of cities. He will conclude the presentation with a warning about the impending risks posed by multiple urban AIs and the obscure black boxes driving their operations, but also with an invitation to politically engage as citizens with increasingly autonomous cities that might forever escape our understanding and thus our control.
This free talk starts at 18:00 and is open to all. The talk will last approximately 45 minutes with Q&A to follow. The event will be of particular relevance to all interested in the relationship between technology, society and how we shape our cities.
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Email alessandro.aurigi@plymouth.ac.uk for further information.
