As Generative AI becomes ever more integrated into our daily lives, many local leaders struggle to understand how to use it responsibly and effectively. Surveys show that cities are generally eager to embrace AI, but don’t always know what approaches are proven, appropriate for public service, and ready to be applied in real operations.
Enter City AI Connect.
In 2023, GovEx and Bloomberg Philanthropies launched City AI Connect, a global community for cities to learn about generative AI together, faster. Cities use it to share lessons from real projects, compare approaches, and learn from one another in practical, transparent ways.
“City AI Connect has fundamentally changed how I approach AI implementation,” says Brendan Babb, Chief Innovation Officer in Anchorage, Alaska. “It solves the hardest problem in local government innovation: finding out what isn’t GenAI hype and what is actually working for cities.”
That clarity comes from direct, peer-to-peer connection. “I recently connected with Dustin Good in Elgin, Illinois, after seeing his project to create a budget Q&A chatbot,” says Babb. “Being able to message him, ask about the friction points, and then take that example to our municipal staff was powerful—it moved the conversation from ‘what if’ to ‘look at this.’”
Babb also credits the community for helping him stay current without getting overwhelmed. “Between the ‘Weekly GenAI Roundup’ and the chance to learn from city leaders around the world, it keeps me calibrated on the state of the art. It’s also been a welcoming space for my team in Anchorage to share our own pilots and get real feedback.”
Kyle Patterson, Director of Organizational Effectiveness for Boise, Idaho, says City AI Connect has grown alongside cities as their understanding of AI has matured.
“Early conversations focused on rules and policies, because that’s where many of us were in our journey,” Patterson says. “Now, the discussions are about experimentation, operational use cases, and lessons learned from pilots.”
That evolution proved especially helpful when Patterson was updating Boise’s AI policy. “I needed to figure out how to handle AI-generated meeting notes. I searched the platform and found detailed discussions from other cities facing the same challenge. That helped me compare options, weigh the tradeoffs, and write policy language that made sense in our local context. That one insight probably saved me days of research.”
Patterson also points to tools like the AI Capacity Quiz as “a helpful framework” for understanding where Boise stands and where it’s headed.
Beyond tools and tactics, both leaders say the relationships matter most. “Through City AI Connect, I’ve connected with peers around the world—smart, passionate public servants I never would have met otherwise,” says Patterson. “Those relationships help me see challenges in new ways and genuinely enrich both my work and my life.”
Babb agrees: “City AI Connect makes the world smaller and our collective intelligence bigger.”
To learn more or join the community, visit cityaiconnect.jhu.edu.
