AI, spatial intelligence and the Citiverse: why global city leaders must act now

Why governments see transformational potential

A major theme running through the Executive Briefing is the idea that AI and spatial intelligence could fundamentally change how governments manage increasingly complex urban systems. With nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, urban administrations face growing strain on infrastructure, housing, mobility, public health and climate resilience.

“The difference between one city and another will be in the way AI is deployed, but also in how AI itself will be able to improve citizens’ lives”

The briefing argues that AI-enabled urban systems could help cities shift from reactive management toward anticipatory governance. Instead of responding to infrastructure failures or service disruptions after they occur, governments could use predictive analytics and simulation tools to identify risks earlier and test solutions in advance.

Infrastructure resilience is presented as one of the strongest examples. AI systems analysing data from IoT sensors could detect stress in bridges, anomalies in water networks or capacity pressures in energy grids before breakdowns occur. Spatial intelligence then adds critical contextual awareness by identifying how those failures affect surrounding systems, such as hospitals, transport corridors or vulnerable communities. Digital twins could allow authorities to simulate repair strategies and understand broader consequences before committing resources.

Urban planning is another area where the briefing identifies transformative potential. Digital twins could allow cities to rehearse the impacts of major projects months or years before physical construction begins. Governments could compare the effects of different housing density models, transport routes or green infrastructure investments through immersive scenario modelling. Rather than relying solely on static reports or spreadsheets, decision-makers would be able to visualise impacts spatially and dynamically.

The briefing also highlights the potential for more inclusive governance. One of the persistent criticisms of smart city programmes has been that decisions are often highly technocratic and disconnected from residents themselves. The Citiverse, however, could make urban planning more understandable and participatory by enabling citizens to experience proposed developments virtually before they are built.

Bueti argues that the real differentiator between cities will not simply be whether they adopt AI, but how they use it. “The difference between one city and another will be in the way AI is deployed, but also in how AI itself will be able to improve citizens’ lives,” she says. “The ultimate goal should be to have people in mind.”
She also believes mayors need to think about AI as core civic infrastructure rather than an isolated technology trend. “The fact that AI is becoming the equivalent of a second digital infrastructure should be a wake-up call for every mayor to rethink their smart city strategy,” she says.

At the same time, the briefing warns that cities cannot pursue AI deployment blindly. Bueti says sustainability concerns are becoming increasingly important as AI adoption accelerates. “The use of AI comes with intense energy use,” she says. “Cities really have to look at AI with a careful approach in choosing the technology that helps them overcome their challenges and not choose AI simply because it is new.”

The briefing also stresses that the benefits of AI must be inclusive. Bueti warns that cities risk deepening inequalities if services are designed only for digitally connected or affluent populations. “If you deploy services that improve one part of the population while leaving out the elderly, disabled or low-income groups, then you are not really giving a service to the city,” she says.

For that reason, she argues that skills and public engagement must become central parts of urban AI strategies. “There has to be equal attention to skills, which means investing in AI training and engaging with the population,” she says.

The governance risks cities cannot ignore

Despite its optimism about the transformative potential of AI and spatial intelligence, the Executive Briefing is equally forceful about the risks associated with unmanaged deployment. The document repeatedly warns that cities face a narrow window in which to establish governance frameworks before fragmented systems and entrenched commercial interests become difficult to reverse.

“The superpowered intelligence that AI gives cities to improve decision-making and boost efficiency in services should also be shared with neighbouring cities, neighbouring countries and cities on the other side of the world”

As such, interoperability is one of the biggest concerns flagged in the briefing. Many cities already operate fragmented systems built around incompatible software platforms, legacy infrastructure and disconnected data silos. Without shared standards, AI-enabled urban systems may struggle to communicate effectively, limiting collaboration between departments, cities and countries.

The briefing explains that interoperability is not simply a technical issue, but also a political and legal challenge. Shared standards must extend beyond data formats and APIs to include governance arrangements, liability frameworks, organisational coordination and legal agreements governing data exchange. If cities fail to establish these foundations early, the briefing warns they risk becoming dependent on proprietary systems that are costly to maintain and difficult to integrate.

Bueti says interoperability has become so prominent in the briefing precisely because cities are already struggling with fragmented smart city systems today. “Many cities invest in platforms which are not interoperable and are vendor locked,” she says. “If you already have such a situation and then you add the boost of AI, that boost may help in some ways, but it will become a bigger problem in others because it will amplify the issues you already have.”

She argues that interoperability must be considered from the beginning of any AI deployment. “Every city needs to take interoperability into consideration from the start,” she says. “Think before deployment about how data will be collected, used and shared.”

According to Bueti, the broader goal is to enable what she describes as “collective intelligence” between cities. “The superpowered intelligence that AI gives cities to improve decision-making and boost efficiency in services should also be shared with neighbouring cities, neighbouring countries and cities on the other side of the world,” she says.

The briefing repeatedly stresses that AI deployment in cities must be approached responsibly from the outset. Rather than allowing fragmented or opportunistic adoption, it argues for holistic governance frameworks that embed accountability, transparency and public oversight into urban AI systems from the beginning.
Bueti says one of the core objectives of the initiative is to prevent cities from repeating mistakes made during earlier smart city programmes. “This is really a call to action for mayors not to repeat similar mistakes that were made when the smart city concept exploded,” she says. “When AI is deployed, it has to be deployed responsibly from the very beginning, making sure there is a holistic approach and accountability for AI.”

She also stresses the importance of maintaining human oversight over automated systems. “If we imagine AI being deployed to redirect traffic, there still has to be human oversight in terms of the control of decision-making,” she says.

Trust and public legitimacy are another major focus. Once AI systems begin influencing public services and physical infrastructure, failures could have immediate real-world consequences. Cyberattacks, algorithmic bias, system outages or flawed automated decisions could damage public confidence not only in individual technologies but in digital transformation programmes more broadly.

The briefing repeatedly stresses the importance of transparency and explainability. Citizens and public officials, it says, must be able to understand how AI systems arrive at decisions, particularly when those decisions affect resource allocation, mobility, public safety or access to services. Algorithmic accountability is framed not as an optional enhancement but as a democratic necessity.

Privacy is also identified as a major concern, particularly because spatial intelligence systems involve highly detailed geographic and behavioural data. The briefing calls for privacy-by-design principles, clear consent mechanisms and safeguards for vulnerable populations to be embedded into system architectures from the outset.

Another challenge highlighted throughout the document is institutional readiness. Many governments may lack the skills, procurement expertise and organisational structures necessary to govern complex AI-enabled urban systems effectively. The briefing notes that technology readiness does not automatically translate into governance readiness. City administrations may invest in sophisticated platforms without developing the institutional capacity needed to oversee them responsibly.

Finally, the briefing warns of a broader geopolitical risk: digital fragmentation. Competing standards, divergent governance models and unequal access to advanced technologies could create a two-speed digital world in which some cities become deeply interconnected innovation hubs while others fall further behind.

A narrow window to shape the future of urban governance

The Executive Briefing ultimately frames the emergence of the AI-enabled Citiverse as both an opportunity and a governance race. The technologies underpinning AI-driven urban systems are developing rapidly, but the rules, standards and institutional safeguards governing them remain unfinished.

This creates what the briefing describes as a rare but limited opportunity for governments to shape digital urban infrastructure around open, interoperable and human-centred principles before proprietary ecosystems and geopolitical fragmentation become entrenched. Much of the document’s urgency stems from the belief that decisions being made now – particularly around standards, procurement and governance frameworks – will shape urban systems for decades.

The briefing urges city leaders to require transparency reviews for AI-enabled public services, adopt interoperable procurement standards and prioritise investment in data infrastructure before deploying advanced AI applications.

To address this, the briefing outlines a series of strategic priorities for governments and city leaders. These include embedding open standards into procurement decisions, using simulation tools to support evidence-based policymaking, strengthening AI transparency and accountability mechanisms, investing in inclusive digital skills and aligning local implementation with broader international frameworks such as the Global Digital Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Bueti says international standards are critical if cities want to avoid fragmentation and vendor lock-in. “We put a lot of emphasis on encouraging cities to adopt international standards,” she says. “The use of international standards ensures that cities are able to have open standards.”

She points to the development of minimum interoperability mechanisms through ITU and OASC as an example of the type of framework cities should be building on. “It gives cities a good basis where they can build and ensure interoperability is taken into consideration in a structured way,” she says.

The briefing urges city leaders to require transparency reviews for AI-enabled public services, adopt interoperable procurement standards and prioritise investment in data infrastructure before deploying advanced AI applications. It also encourages cities to use digital twins and immersive visualisation tools not only for operational management but as mechanisms for public engagement and trust-building.

What makes the briefing distinctive is that it does not present the Citiverse simply as a technology agenda. Instead, it positions the convergence of AI, spatial intelligence and immersive environments as a fundamental governance issue that will shape how cities distribute resources, manage infrastructure, engage citizens and address inequality.

The technologies at play here are still early enough in their development for global consensus around shared standards and public-interest principles to remain achievable. But it also warns that this window will not remain open indefinitely. In the years ahead, the cities and governments that move first may not only shape their own digital futures, but also influence the governance models that define urban life globally.