Should you ask many metropolis authorities leaders learn how to win the hearts of residents, the reply may very properly be “potholes,” or, extra particularly, fixing them.
“Potholes not solely inform you in regards to the state of your infrastructure,” famous a Harvard researcher in 2019, “additionally they inform you in regards to 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 have interaction with authorities.
Lately, expectations have solely risen on what governments have to ship, leaving many cities struggling to ship providers in methods folks want whereas additionally operating 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, somewhat than solely in-person. However, governments face unprecedented pressures when it comes to funding, rules, staffing, and cybercrime.
To bridge this hole, an increasing number of metropolis governments want to use the force-multiplying energy of generative AI. Its capacity to converse in pure language and cause 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 all over the world, now we have seen dramatic acceleration in generative AI innovation, with new options which are serving to cities to:
Ship personalised providers.
Empower the professionals who serve the general public.
Derive higher insights and larger worth from information.
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 formidable 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 executed!”—the platform started as a centralized portal a number of years in the past and was revised to broaden service choices. With the applying 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 lessons of advantages. The platform presents real-world examples of how AI can remodel good cities by unifying providers and alluring 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 now not forcing them to go to authorities buildings to get issues executed.
The brand new TAMM features a generative AI assistant that gives every single day service, providing personalised entry to providers reminiscent of license renewals, utility invoice funds, allow functions, 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 automotive, as an illustration, was dramatically simplified. What beforehand required days of visiting buildings and standing in traces can now be executed rapidly by the app—which additionally recommends the fitting 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 (reminiscent of responding to fundamental questions on providers points or functions), metropolis staff can focus extra on high-value service supply. With dwell providers together with video and audio choices, brokers can ship high-touch help whereas nonetheless sustaining person privateness.
A great instance of that is the case of a overseas employee who lived in Abu Dhabi for 10 years and was instructed by an immigration agent that she couldn’t depart the nation resulting from visa points. In tears, she opened the TAMM app on her telephone and was linked 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 wonderful,” 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 essential pattern: equipping public servants to work like product groups in order that metropolis providers evolve like platforms. The TAMM group operates in a novel “manufacturing facility” in Abu Dhabi that operates like a startup—agile, data-driven, and obsessive about person satisfaction. The 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 muse of smarter cities.
3. Maintain cities transferring with providers that pay attention, study, and shield
TAMM is designed to assist folks higher navigate authorities providers by understanding and responding to person wants virtually 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 can assist 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 may be coordinated with in-person service facilities or businesses who assist housebound folks of their houses.
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 information and guarantee privateness inside these transactions is the world class cloud safety supplied 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 occurring in Abu Dabhi is a superb instance of a metropolis realizing the transformative potential supplied by generative AI. Many others are following the pattern, and the outcomes are thrilling.
As we glance throughout the worldwide panorama, we observe a set of widespread components that constantly underpin profitable AI adoption. We might 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—reminiscent of decreasing response occasions 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 may also enhance neighborhood belief.
AI literacy should span the whole workforce. Profitable implementations embrace investments to construct AI literacy throughout all ranges of the general public workforce—from IT and information science groups to case employees and metropolis clerks. With efficient coaching and a tradition of studying and sharing, cities have extra empowered workforces and luxuriate in higher outcomes.
Sturdy information foundations are essential. Cities that proactively clear, combine, and govern their information estates—together with structured, unstructured, and semi-structured information—are higher in a position to operationalize AI quicker, extra securely, and at scale. A contemporary information platform emphasizes strong privateness and entry protections as stipulations for AI success, serving to civic leaders keep away from widespread pitfalls reminiscent of mannequin bias, incomplete datasets, or compliance gaps.
Study extra about AI expertise for governments
To assist your metropolis authorities profit from fashionable cloud and AI expertise, contact your native Microsoft consultant or licensed expertise companion. Collectively, we can assist you discover choices, establish use instances, and remodel your concepts into significant options.
For in-depth steering and sources on designing, deploying, and sustaining AI-powered options in metropolis authorities, go to the Public Sector Heart for Digital Abilities.
For workforce improvement and coaching sources and steering 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.
