ARTICLE | March 3, 2025 | VOICES

The dawn of the AI-powered metropolis

Global cities are leveraging AI to upgrade cities and make life better for residents

By Paige Young, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at ServiceNow

Our world is undergoing a massive burst in urbanization. A 2018 United Nations study estimates that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas—more than double the share in 1950 and 2.5 billion more people than today. But such rapid expansion strains infrastructure, so the big question is: How will our cities keep up?

Enter AI—an increasingly critical solution for optimizing resources, increasing sustainability, predicting disasters, and transforming city management at scale. ServiceNow collaborated with NVIDIA, Deloitte, and ThoughtLab to understand AI’s impact on urban development and its role in shaping the cities of the future.

Generative AI

In our survey of 250 cities worldwide, we found a surge in AI adoption, with leading cities pioneering smarter, safer, and more sustainable urban environments.

The highest rate of adoption was in large cities/megacities, where 43% are already deploying traditional AI to assist in automation and decision-making. And while only 12% of small cities use AI today, this number is expected to jump to 41% within three years.

Generative AI (GenAI), a more advanced form of AI capable of analyzing complex data and enhancing decision-making, is gaining traction even faster. Nearly 90% of cities are actively planning, piloting, or already using GenAI, with widespread adoption expected to triple in the next three years—from 18% to 59%.

[Get all the data and discover what AI leaders do differently. Download the research report here.]

We also found that city leaders are implementing AI in surprisingly innovative ways to address critical challenges. In Tokyo, AI-powered disaster preparedness systems combine sensors with predictive modeling and high-altitude cameras to detect early signs of natural disasters. Raleigh, North Carolina, uses a digital twin of the city complete with AI-powered modeling of microclimates to improve livability and manage heat levels. Amsterdam has pioneered transparency in AI governance with a registry that provides detailed information about the AI applications and algorithms the city uses.

Looking ahead, cities are preparing to take the giant leap into Agentic AI. Unlike more traditional AI, which analyzes data, or GenAI, which enhances decision-making, Agentic AI goes even further: making real-time decisions and taking autonomous actions. From dynamically optimizing traffic flows to balancing energy grids to coordinating emergency responses, such intelligent systems will transform city management from purely reactive to proactive.

But with greater autonomy comes greater responsibility. City leaders are prioritizing strong governance frameworks to mitigate risks such as biased outputs, privacy concerns, and security threats. Ensuring AI operates ethically and transparently will be critical to building public trust as cities embrace this next wave of intelligent automation.

AI is only as effective as the platform it is built on. So, it’s no surprise that 88% of surveyed AI-leading smart cities—those at the forefront of AI adoption—are midway or further in modernizing their IT platforms, compared to just 43% of other cities. Combined with a rigorous effort to integrate data across all departments, the right platform makes it possible for city leaders to experiment, iterate, and ultimately deploy digital initiatives that lead to healthier, safer, and more sustainable cities.

We’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century, and successful cities of this era will not only have to be smarter, but also more livable, sustainable, and resilient in the face of whatever pressures or challenges they face. AI is already reshaping urban life across the globe, but its true potential depends on having the right foundation: a scalable, secure, and seamlessly integrated technology platform that unites data across every department, every neighborhood, and every street corner. The cities that get this right will be among this century’s greatest and most vibrant metropolises. The future is closer than you think. For our world’s cities, it’s already here.