Written by Tami Fillyaw – Finance, Management, Cybersecurity, Tax Leaders, US State and Local Government, Amazon Web Services
Tami Fillyaw is the US and Local Government Finance, Management, Cybersecurity and Tax (Facts) Vertical Practice Leader at Amazon Web Services. Tami has overseen budgets, finances, licensing and consumer services for more than 20 years in the state government and worked with the county government for several years. I'll fight with her tfillyaw@amazon.com.
Throughout the United States, cities, towns and villages recognize the value of artificial intelligence (AI) in providing services, improving citizen engagement, and making better decisions for their communities.
According to a global survey of 250 cities, 56% of cities are actively maneuvering or using AI to upgrade government operations and services, with 83% planning to do so over the next three years. Many cities are deploying AI to improve road safety and traffic flow, support emergency response, and enable predictive maintenance of water supply systems and energy grids. Cities are also using embedded AI to identify and mitigate cybersecurity events.
Licenses and Permissions
Cities also employ AI to modernize licensing, promote economic growth, boost housing supply, increase response times and transparency, improve compliance and customer satisfaction.
Hamilton cityworking with the Bloomberg Urban Center to use AI to scan first-phase building permit applications to ensure urban regulations, building codes and zoning requirements. Result: Allow processing time is reduced by 60%. Los Angeles The City Planning Department also uses AI to analyze land use regulations and zoning data and proactively identify issues that need to be addressed during permit application reviews.
Cities are also integrating AI and GIS into the permissions process to promote a better digital experience. Hello, City and County of Honoluluguiding customers through the application process and getting status updates using the integrated housing permit application, inspection, enforcement and land management tools online portal and mobile app. The time to complete housing permits has been reduced by 70%.
Other benefits of using AI for the licensing and authorization process include:
- Improve data accuracy and reduce errors: AI can extract and classify data from a variety of document formats, such as PDFS and CAD files, to facilitate the review process.
- More informed decision making: Machine learning can analyze historical data and large datasets from multiple knowledge bases to identify trends and patterns, and predict service and supply needs based on construction intelligence, population density and growth.
- Better response times and customer experience: AI-powered platforms allow 24/7 interaction and visibility into application status. AI-enabled chatbots can help you answer questions about licensing requirements, fees, and inspections, and help you autofill your applications. In Honolulu, the city has added AI bots to support the permit review process that helps reduce wait times to reach reviewers from six months to two to three days.
Another citizen-centered example is Chicago cityhas launched OpenGrid, a real-time, open-source situational awareness program aimed at improving citizen satisfaction and the efficiency of city operations. With AWS infrastructure, OpenGrid can interact with city data via 311 to view information about business license applications, traffic concerns, and emergency response calls. By increasing responsiveness and transparency, AI is changing the experience of citizens and strengthening public trust in government.
As AI technology evolves, opportunities will evolve too. One such opportunity is agent AI, where multiple AI agents work together to automate and process multi-step tasks. For example, Agent AI can coordinate actions in several business processes, from checking for applications for errors and missing information, to verifying plans, generating compliance reports, and collecting approvals and application fees.
Conclusion
Modern cities need modern tools. Integrating AI into license and operational permits will help cities automate compliance reviews to reduce risk, reduce management burdens, enable employees to focus on more complex tasks and provide services in a timely and more timely manner that is more likely to respond to citizens and businesses.
To effectively harness the power of AI, cities need to dedicate time to understanding the unique capabilities of AI tools and which tools they invest in are best suited to their strategic goals. The success of AI adoption is also conditioned on ensuring the privacy and security of sensitive data, training and skilled employees, and promoting public trust through the transparency and responsible use of AI.
AWS offers free AI training and certifications specific to the roles held by government experts, highlighting real-world use cases. For those who learn by doing it, we also provide fun and interactive tools to learn how to quickly build and use AI applications using AWS.
AWS also identifies with public sector customers to securely implement AI solutions through AWS Generic AI Innovation Center and Cloud Innovation Centers.
AI shapes how we live, work and learn. City governments have the opportunity to navigate AI with intention and confidence.
Visit the NLC Strategic Partnerships page to learn more about organizations such as Amazon that are dedicated to making NLC the best resource for local governments.
