153 PUBLIC SECTOR Residents in the City of Burlington in Canada can use an AI-powered selfservice portal to apply for building permits, which has cut the average approval time from 15 to seven weeks maximum on tools such as Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Assistant can help workers to quickly interrogate this data and get useful information back in simple language, so they can make better-informed decisions in real time.” These tools also enable government organisations to rapidly share safety updates with members of the public who have been affected – both during the emergency and afterwards. “Unlike traditional ways of disseminating this information, digital agents can provide fast individualised responses to citizens’ queries about road closures, evacuation orders, the nearest shelters and more,” says Priest. “This reduces the administrative pressure on government employees, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.” Data can also help city leaders to predict and prepare for future disasters. This is particularly important now more cities around the world are facing increasing climate hazards – a 2024 survey by environmental data charity CDP found 83 per cent of the 1,131 cities who responded expect to be challenged by flooding, extreme heat, drought and wildfires in future. “Some places are more prone to natural disasters or climate change, and being able to proactively prepare for these incidents can vastly improve the outcome when they do occur,” says Priest. “It’s essential for city leaders to act now by building data platforms and harnessing technologies like AI and predictive analytics to fully understand the impact these incidents could have on everything from physical infrastructure to service delivery and the local community. That way, they can proactively develop solutions to mitigate these risks.” Government-owned firefighting agency Alberta Wildfire has already adopted these technologies to better predict fire risk and strategically allocate resources across 39 million hectares of protected forests in Alberta, Canada. Photo: iStock/simonkr
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