How San José is setting an AI benchmark for other cities

Mayor of San José Matt Mahan recently hosted the second annual GovAI Summit, which convened local and state government leaders, technologists, and policy experts from across the country to explore the future of AI in the public sector.

Launched in 2023 at San José City Hall, the GovAI Coalition is the first national network of local and state governments dedicated to purposeful, ethical, and effective use of AI in government. Today, it includes over 700 agencies, representing more than 150 million residents.

The summit highlighted how cities like San José are responsibly deploying AI to improve civic engagement, public safety, transportation, and service delivery. Mayor Mahan also announce a new initiative to expand AI access and education, building on San José’s national leadership in responsible innovation.

It builds on San José’s broader AI efforts, including improving road safety, empowering public employees, speeding up bus routes, and more. The AI Road Safety Pilot recently achieved 97 per cent accuracy detecting potholes and other street hazards, helping crews make faster repairs and keep streets cleaner. The City also launched the nation’s first citywide RFP for a secure generative AI platform, which will allow 7,000 employees to build custom AI assistants and automate routine tasks, and an AI Upskilling Programme as part of its efforts to redefine how local government serves its residents.

SmartCitiesWorld (SCW): San José is blazing a trial when it comes to integrating AI, what have been the main challenges faced in terms of technology?

Mayor Matt Mahan (MM): San José is one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world – and has been for generations. But tools that were once cutting-edge eventually become status quo – inhibiting innovation. One example is our permitting software, which is the foundation of our Planning & Building Department’s work. Without it, the Department can’t serve our residents and issue the 40,000 permits we issue each year, so integrating new tools must be done cautiously. To make updates without jeopardising the entire system, we’ve done pilot deployments external to the system for a few simpler permit processes as we prepare for a larger reengineering down the road as newer tools mature.

But the biggest barrier isn’t the technology itself – it’s a culture of caution. Government tends to be highly risk-averse – and for good reason. We serve the people, we answer to the people and we are responsible for their hard-earned tax dollars. We have a duty to be fiscally, legally and ethically responsible in all of our actions. But we also have a duty to solve our constituents’ problems. And for too long, government has been too slow and inefficient in delivering results.

There’s a real sense that we’re all in this together – learning how to use AI to make government work better for people while being thoughtful about the potential risks

On a range of core issues – housing and energy affordability, public safety, infrastructure maintenance, education – our often-antiquated government systems have struggled to achieve the outcomes our residents deserve. To do so, we need to reimagine our approach. We need to try new things – and we need to acknowledge when things aren’t working. 

Not every initiative is successful, but city workers need to know they won’t be penalised for good faith efforts to improve city services. We work hard to empower city employees to create and share solutions. That’s why our IT Training Academy – using workforce upskilling curricula co-developed with our public university, San José State – teaches city employees to use AI and advanced data solutions and encourages them to bring forward their best applications. 

In less than a year, programme graduates have saved between 10,000 and 20,000 staff hours and $50,000 in consulting costs. Given these early successes, we’re expanding to train more than 1,000 employees – 15 per cent of our workforce – by the end of 2026. We’re proud to be one of the first major cities to roll out AI training at this scale, and hope this serves as a national model for other cities to do the same.

SCW: What prompted you to launch the GovAI Coalition?

MM: There is a lot of fear and rhetoric surrounding AI. The decisions we make today will affect future generations – and frankly, we’re seeing a lot of fighting and indecision at the state and federal levels of government when it comes to if and how we regulate this new technology. That’s why we took action at the local level and started the GovAI Coalition.

What started as an informal Zoom meeting with like-minded city employees has become the largest network of public sector leaders in the country working to advance responsible, open, and replicable AI practices. The coalition, which has grown to more than 900 member agencies representing over 150 million Americans, just wrapped up its second annual in-person gathering here in San José. 

Looking forward, we’re focused on updating our GovAI working groups to align with the most immediate needs of the coalition. For example, our Data Governance Committee recently released a new template for data-sharing agreements, which helps agencies form partnerships more efficiently while maintaining strong safeguards. We’re also collaborating on shared procurement opportunities, including a multi-agency digital twin RFP, and strengthening the trust ecosystem between vendors and government through our AI registry platform.

Finally, we’re moving beyond documenting implementation stories to developing true impact stories – tracking how pilot projects deliver sustained benefits that governments can measure and replicate. 

Our hope is that any public agency, irrespective of its size or budget, can safely and confidently use the coalition’s resources to leapfrog off of past public sector learning to provide the most efficient, responsive, and effective services for its constituents. 

SCW: Have you been pleased with how quickly and readily other cities and agencies have been to join the coalition and take a collective approach to AI. And what do you think it says about both the opportunities and challenges/dangers of AI?

MM: Absolutely. There’s a real sense that we’re all in this together – learning how to use AI to make government work better for people while being thoughtful about the potential risks.

The fact that so many cities and local agencies have stepped up shows both the excitement and mindfulness around AI. We all see its potential to make services faster, more responsive and free up employee time to focus on more meaningful work, but we also know we need to get it right – by emphasising transparency, privacy, security, and public trust.

SCW: What do you see as the main challenges and milestones ahead for your city and the GovAI Coalition?

MM: The “AI for All” initiative announced this week was a major milestone for our city – and we hope far beyond. Having three of the world’s leading technology companies come together and offer their tools and training modules for free through our SJ Public Library system is something we didn’t see much of during the last technological revolution, the advent of the internet and the telecommunications boom. And we faced the consequences – a massive digital divide that we are still working hard to close. This time around, we’re seeing hopeful signs that private sector innovators recognise the risk of deepening societal disparities and are open to working with the public sector to get ahead of these risks.

That’s the difficult, but exciting challenge before us. Innovation happens whether we like it or not, and it almost always comes with trade-offs (even if it makes certain products or services faster, better, cheaper). Those of us working in the public sector have a responsibility to help shape technological change so that it does more good than harm at the societal level.

The “AI for All” initiative announced this week was a major milestone for our city – and we hope far beyond

The GovAI Coalition and public-private partnerships like AI for All are some of our best early attempts to get this right. But we have to remember that we’re in an early phase of this technology cycle and many new opportunities and risks lie ahead. 

I firmly believe that our best chance to deliver greater opportunity and value for all of the people we serve lies in the ongoing collaboration and learning we’ve embarked on with our fellow public agencies over the past few years. Our work together makes me optimistic about the future.

Find out more about the GovAI Coalition here.