In case you ask many metropolis authorities leaders the way to win the hearts of residents, the reply may very properly be “potholes,” or, extra particularly, fixing them.
“Potholes not solely let you know concerning the state of your infrastructure,” famous a Harvard researcher in 2019, “additionally they let you know concerning the nature of participation in your metropolis.”1 A metropolis that fixes a pothole promptly isn’t just responsive, its constituents really feel empowered to interact with authorities.
In recent times, expectations have solely risen on what governments have to ship, leaving many cities struggling to ship providers in methods folks favor whereas additionally working a gauntlet of budgetary, regulatory, and societal challenges. On the one hand, residents wish to entry nice metropolis providers on par with how they do their banking or purchasing—that’s, safe, personalised experiences on smartphones and computing gadgets, reasonably than completely in-person. Alternatively, governments face unprecedented pressures by way of funding, rules, staffing, and cybercrime.
To bridge this hole, increasingly metropolis governments want to use the force-multiplying energy of generative AI. Its potential to converse in pure language and motive over huge shops of knowledge, then discover solutions, compose messages, and orchestrate actions isn’t solely fixing longstanding modernization challenges, it’s additionally opening unimaginable new frontiers in metropolis providers.
Serving to metropolis governments consider, discover, and efficiently deploy high-impact options with AI is now the first focus of our work at Microsoft for presidency. In cities around the globe, we now have seen dramatic acceleration in generative AI innovation, with new options which can be serving to cities to:
- Ship personalised providers.
- Empower the professionals who serve the general public.
- Derive higher insights and better worth from knowledge.
The way forward for the good metropolis is already right here—in Abu Dhabi
The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, launched an bold drive round 15 years in the past to make authorities providers extra accessible and service-oriented. In Abu Dhabi, the nation’s capital, these efforts took an enormous leap with the appearance of AI, accelerating innovation that led to the launch of a brand new AI-powered authorities providers platform in October 2024.
Aptly referred to as TAMM—which in Arabic interprets to “think about it completed!”—the platform started as a centralized portal a number of years in the past and was revised to increase service choices. With the appliance of recent AI capabilities, it’s now a one-stop digital hub, providing entry to just about 950 authorities providers for residents, residents, guests, and buyers.
Constructed on Microsoft Azure OpenAI service, TAMM makes use of superior AI to ship new courses of advantages. The platform presents real-world examples of how AI can rework good cities by unifying providers and welcoming engagement in new and highly effective methods.
Listed below are three noteworthy ways in which TAMM improves metropolis service supply.
1. Serve folks as they like, with personalised interactions
TAMM is designed to take away boundaries between authorities providers and the individuals who want them. In lots of instances, which means not forcing them to go to authorities buildings to get issues completed.
The brand new TAMM features a generative AI assistant that gives each day service, providing personalised entry to providers resembling license renewals, utility invoice funds, allow purposes, healthcare, and extra. There’s even a brand new photograph reporting app, the place folks can take a snapshot of an issue they arrive throughout (together with, sure, a pothole) and the assistant helps to fill out a report and later sends updates on the progress of repairs.
TAMM additionally helps to untangle forms to simplify widespread but difficult duties. The method of registering a automobile, for example, was dramatically simplified. What beforehand required days of visiting buildings and standing in traces can now be completed rapidly by the app—which additionally recommends the proper kind of insurance coverage coverage and synchronizes it with registration.
2. Ship higher outcomes with a extra energized and empowered workforce
As a result of TAMM handles so many extra routine duties than earlier than (resembling responding to primary questions on providers points or purposes), metropolis staff can focus extra on high-value service supply. With reside providers together with video and audio choices, brokers can ship high-touch help whereas nonetheless sustaining consumer privateness.
A great instance of that is the case of a international employee who lived in Abu Dhabi for 10 years and was instructed by an immigration agent that she couldn’t go away the nation as a result of visa points. In tears, she opened the TAMM app on her telephone and was related to a helpline, the place an agent rapidly eased her anxieties. “I mentioned I don’t know what to do, and the agent was actually superb,” the girl mentioned. “[The agent] mentioned, ‘Don’t fear, it’s getting up to date now’—and I used to be on my manner.”
The strategy to innovation behind TAMM additionally displays an vital development: equipping public servants to work like product groups in order that metropolis providers evolve like platforms. The TAMM group operates in a novel “manufacturing unit” in Abu Dhabi that operates like a startup—agile, data-driven, and obsessive about consumer satisfaction. Town’s staff don’t simply execute providers; they co-innovate with residents and stakeholders to create them. Actual-time dashboards, productivity-enhancing brokers, and a tradition of steady iteration are driving success and proving that empowering the workforce is the inspiration of smarter cities.
3. Maintain cities transferring with providers that hear, be taught, and shield
TAMM is designed to assist folks higher navigate authorities providers by understanding and responding to consumer wants nearly immediately. It acknowledges a number of languages and presents the choice for spoken conversations, intelligently strolling folks by a broad vary of complicated processes. For instance, for a household with an individual who has a incapacity, TAMM may also help navigate particular providers, considerably streamlining a qualification course of that beforehand took weeks.
TAMM not solely remembers earlier conversations and is aware of the standing of a problem or course of, it is usually deeply built-in throughout main authorities entities within the metropolis. Service will be coordinated with in-person service facilities or businesses who assist housebound folks of their properties.
The TAMM platform is powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI service and G42 Compass 2.0, a next-generation enterprise AI platform that gives sovereign cloud providers. It additionally makes use of open-source fashions, together with JAIS, a high-performing Arabic Giant Language Mannequin, and Azure OpenAI GPT-4.
The TAMM app now assists Abu Dhabi’s 2.5 million residents to conduct than 10 million transactions a 12 months. Serving to to guard knowledge and guarantee privateness inside these transactions is the world class cloud safety offered by the Microsoft platform—reflecting our dedication to safety above all in delivering AI providers, as codified in our Safe Futures Initiative.
Keys for constructing a basis of success with AI
The noteworthy innovation taking place in Abu Dabhi is a good instance of a metropolis realizing the transformative potential supplied by generative AI. Many others are following the development, and the outcomes are thrilling.
As we glance throughout the worldwide panorama, we word a set of widespread components that constantly underpin profitable AI adoption. We’d advise each metropolis to contemplate the next:
- A mission-first mindset drives smarter AI adoption. Cities that anchor AI initiatives in clearly outlined public outcomes—resembling decreasing response instances to citizen queries or enhancing entry to social providers—are higher geared up to prioritize high-impact use instances and rigorously measure outcomes. Aligning AI innovation with coverage targets improves readability and also can increase neighborhood belief.
- AI literacy should span your complete workforce. Profitable implementations embrace investments to construct AI literacy throughout all ranges of the general public workforce—from IT and knowledge science groups to case employees and metropolis clerks. With efficient coaching and a tradition of studying and sharing, cities have extra empowered workforces and revel in higher outcomes.
- Robust knowledge foundations are important. Cities that proactively clear, combine, and govern their knowledge estates—together with structured, unstructured, and semi-structured knowledge—are higher in a position to operationalize AI quicker, extra securely, and at scale. A contemporary knowledge platform emphasizes strong privateness and entry protections as conditions for AI success, serving to civic leaders keep away from widespread pitfalls resembling mannequin bias, incomplete datasets, or compliance gaps.
Study extra about AI know-how for governments
To assist your metropolis authorities profit from fashionable cloud and AI know-how, contact your native Microsoft consultant or licensed know-how companion. Collectively, we may also help you discover choices, determine use instances, and rework your concepts into significant options.
- For in-depth steerage and sources on designing, deploying, and sustaining AI-powered options in metropolis authorities, go to the Public Sector Heart for Digital Expertise.
- For workforce improvement and coaching sources and steerage tailor-made to cities and different authorities organizations, go to Microsoft Study for Authorities.
- For extra on how Microsoft helps to empower governments with AI, learn our blogs.
Microsoft for governments
Options that empower governments
Sources:
1 Harvard Griffin GSAS, “Pothole Politics”, January 2019.
