10 Use Cases for Local Government AI
Local government leaders believe that AI has the greatest potential to improve services in transport and transport (34%), infrastructure (24%), public safety (21%), environment and climate (21%), and public schools (18%), according to a Bloomberg Charity 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 analyse huge amounts of data to help police find public safety trends and allocate resources to help them move away from crime. For example, by identifying a surge in intrusions in certain areas, police can intervene more quickly. The San Francisco Police Department not only uses AI to detect threats, but also reveals links between seemingly unrelated cases. The AI-based analysis of the department also provides insight into the socioeconomic factors underlying crime, helping police assess crime prevention tactics and coordinate community policing in every corner of the city.
Through the responsible use of video surveillance, local governments are adopting AI to enhance security in crowded venues such as soccer stadiums and airports. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport relies on AI-driven video tools to monitor crowd density so security managers can assign staff more efficiently. Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport uses an AI-enabled scanner, so airport staff don't require travelers to remove safe liquids and laptops from their bags, helping their security lines move faster while flagging real threats.
2. Traffic Management and Transportation
AI is beginning to help local governments optimize traffic flow. It helps to clarify driving patterns, dynamically reset traffic signals to prevent long backups, identify roads that need repairs, and scheduling road operations to minimize traffic disruption. In Australia, certain regions that manage more than 650,000 kilometers of roads combined and managed, are testing AI systems that provide real-time diagnostics. This system warns of early signs of wear and tear on the pavement, which can lead to pot holes.
In Chicago, AI-powered chatbots interact with city bus riders who want to report issues and share ideas for improvement. Meanwhile, other regions are investigating AI systems that uncover bus and subway riding patterns, predict passenger demand, schedule equipment maintenance, recommend changing routing to reduce costs and increase revenue.
3. Civic Services
In more and more cities and counties, AI chatbots provide citizens with 24/7 support and information. Online forums and research provide an easy way for governments to get feedback on public services, while AI-based automated engagement platforms analyse public sentiments on social media to inform government decisions.
Generator AI tools can analyze public information about currency and accuracy. For example, they may cross-check government websites and call centre scripts to standardize answers to frequently asked questions. Dearborn, Michigan, is investigating the use of AI translation tools to help Arab and Hispanic groups use the city's website. The town of Reading, Massachusetts uses the Genai system to create most of its public communications, including press releases.
4. Urban Planning and Development
Urban Planners are researching ways that help AI set priorities. Its sophisticated algorithms and massive data processing can help you analyze factors such as traffic patterns, population growth, economic trends, and environmental impacts of development projects. By retrieving data from sensors, satellites and social media platforms, AI analytics helps planners identify more efficient and sustainable ways to use public lands, build infrastructure and manage transportation systems.
Barcelona, for example, uses AI to save money with irrigation and park maintenance. Wellington, New Zealand and Shanghai are creating AI-driven digital twins to help urban planners visualize development projects and predict impacts, such as how new sports arenas will affect surrounding areas. In Sydney, Australia, AI tools are improving the routine but critical processes 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. It also relies on AI chatbots to accelerate service delivery and answer questions about profit eligibility, how to enter applications, how to pay, and more. On the administrative side, Genai helps to summarise documents, interpret policies and guidance, and reduce casework inventory.
Aspiranet, a nonprofit that works with 30 California counties to move youth from foster parents to independent living, uses an AI-based natural language processing solution that allows case managers to query files across the county and find information that can be applied to future cases. In California, Sonoma County uses AI systems to analyse the conversations of anonymous patients, such as those dealing with substance abuse. The system finds new slang for the drug used through the patient database, and keeps caseworkers up to date, maintain spot red flags and ultimately intervene.
6. Environmental monitoring and management
AI helps local governments monitor communities for water, 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 more quickly and more accurately. Denmark's Aarhus uses AI analytics to estimate vendor carbon emissions and help the city move spending to more sustainable partners.
AI tools can also make waste management more efficient, simplify waste collection, improve recycling efforts, and identify areas where heavy scattering are occurring. Montgomery County, Maryland combines infrared technology with AI algorithms to identify plastic types that will make recycling faster. Miami, Florida, has installed smart cameras in city dumpsters to measure and classify waste, strengthen its recycling program and reduce waste collection costs.
7. Emergency response and disaster management
Local governments can use AI to predict floods, wildfires, droughts, blizzards and other natural disasters. By delivering data faster than Legacy Analytics Technologies, AI can help you create simulations of potential future catastrophes. For example, such analysis could reveal that climate change is exposing certain areas more to flood. AI tools can also support early warning systems by providing real-time updates on atmospheric pressure measurements from weather stations.
AI also proves to be useful for crisis management. By processing images of drones or helicopter cameras flying through hard hit areas, AI analysis can provide faster, more accurate reporting and provide jump start mitigation. In 2023, local responders used such a method when the Ukraine Kakhovkadam was breached and wildfires swept Maui.
8. Financial Management
Amidst the ongoing staffing shortage, governments often struggle to hire auditors and other finance personnel. Meanwhile, the Washington State Audit Bureau reports that human auditors only detected around 5% of fraud targeting public money. To help local governments address these challenges, AI tools can quickly analyze large quantities of financial reports and flag fraudulent use of invoices, payments, property valuations, and grants. These advanced features are essential as Fraudsters also have the freedom to use powerful AI tools. Scams (ChatGupto for Grifters) are easy to drive away phishing emails and hacking websites.
In addition to promoting audits, AI also helps local governments optimize their budgets. AI and Genai tools simplify budget analysis analysis by automating the creation of RFPs and RFIs, helping to reduce costs, create budgetary narratives for internal and public consumption, and helping governments respond to requests for Free Information Act and citizen spending questions. Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, uses an AI-enabled platform to code and process bills, reducing standard turnaround times from one week to one day or two.
9. Community Engagement
AI helps local governments analyze public sentiment on social media channels. This is an increasingly common way to measure program success or failure. Whether subjects are raising property taxes, building new schools through capital investments, or changing flight patterns for planes in residential areas, sentiment analysis can reveal unambitious opinions and guide decision-making. In the Philippines, local officials rely on AI systems to analyse news and social media in both Tagalog and English, helping them understand development priorities in general.
Additionally, public participation platforms such as Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) and Polis use AI systems to work with local governments to seek, analyze and respond to feedback. Large-scale language models help decision makers see how they can move from one area to another neighborhood.
10. Education and workforce development
Though it is early days for AI-powered training and development tools, the technology has promised to personalize instruction based on employee learning styles. Some tools can even recommend mid-training improvements. If employees are having trouble understanding topics, AI tools can support learning by providing customized content and practice exercises.
AI-based automation also helps regions match candidates with job offers. King County, Washington, relies on such systems to better understand job requirements and candidate profiles and analyze intangible assets such as cultural fit, as well as skills and experience. Such an analysis will save government recruiters time and help them find the best candidate. As the region strives to achieve diversity and inclusion goals, such a system will also help eliminate bias in government employment decisions.
