The conference provided a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange on the transformative role of AI in urban contexts.
This conference was sponsored by the School of Cities India at the University of Toronto and the Center for Information Technology and Public Policy at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore in collaboration with the University of Toronto India Foundation. The conference explored the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and urban dynamics and foster innovative solutions and insights for creating smarter, more inclusive, and sustainable cities of the future. It addressed how AI is leveraged and critique its possible uses and impacts.
Simon’s keynote argued that unpacking urban AI’s genealogy, dynamics, and implications was a programmatic responsibility for urban studies. He noted that this would take time, and caution should be taken, and rigorous analysis would help avoid the trap of too quickly embracing utopian imaginaries or dystopian visions of AI’s benefits and dangers. However, it was important to also be careful to scrutinise technological trajectories that were less visible yet were already actively operationalising milieus, humans, and more-than-human urban life.