Giving smart cities the EQ to match their IQ

Imagine living in a city that seems to know what you need before you do.

You leave your house for work and your phone informs you that a local driverless bus is just ten minutes away.

The walk to the station is across pavements fitted with innovative sensors that help urban planners build better pedestrian walkways, and there are robot lawnmowers humming softly as they maintain the local parks. Your bus journey is quick and painless, thanks to AI-powered traffic systems. 

In fact, the city is always at work in the background, whether it's monitoring energy grids to optimize power usage, tracking air quality to improve citizens' health, or improving water distribution to avoid waste. 

At the turn of the century, this would have sounded like a city from the distant future – but it's actually what life looks like in modern-day Singapore, a global pioneer of the smart city. 

In places like Singapore, technology and sustainability intersect to create spaces that aim to offer citizens a better quality of life. Many other cities are matching the trend – Oslo, Zurich, Abu Dhabi are all among the ‘smartest cities’ in the world for their use of technology to make life better for residents. And that’s not to even mention The Line, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic urban project.

By all definitions, smart cities can be said to have a high IQ, then. They not only have super-human processing power, but an ever-improving ability to ‘reason’ with high intelligence. 

But do they have the emotional intelligence (EQ) to match? While that may sound unimportant, it isn’t. Smart city projects are careful not to digitize in a way that makes urban areas seem dystopian, cold, and robotic.

So the question remains: are cities at risk of losing the human touch, or can we give them the EQ to match their IQ?  

Smart thinking: What does the public think of smart cities?

When it comes to smart cities, public approval is pretty high. Two-thirds of Americans feel comfortable living in them, and 70% enjoy having 'smart' appliances in their homes, according to a recent poll.  

What's more, a study from Capgemini found that people who benefit from smart city initiatives rate their quality of life as good across a number of metrics, including: 

• Health issues (73% versus 56% of those who don't live in a smart city)
• Sustainability (72% versus 51%)
• Emotional wellbeing (74% versus 53%)
• Security (77% versus 52%) 

That's not to say opinions are entirely positive, though. To improve public services, smart cities rely on data, which is collected by various IoT (Internet of Things) devices and other technology infrastructure. And University of Washington (UoW) research shows there are concerns among residents about data privacy, social equity, and information overload in smart cities. 

Trust and information quality are issues we've discussed before on our blog, and it's clear local governments should be transparent about how, why, and when they use their citizens' data. 

But the UoW research also reveals a deeper truth about smart cities – that the government needs to put people first, not technologies. 

Smart cities promise to make the lives of their citizens better (and it seems to be working!). However, people also want to feel a connection with their city and be uplifted by the technology around them, rather than overwhelmed or excluded by it. 

Here’s where we talk about something very close to our hearts. How smart cities help societies prosper without individuals getting lost in the crowd.

We believe digital human solutions for smart cities offer an exciting way forward. These AI agents provide an intelligent AI interface that you can speak to like a real human, bridging the gap between technology and people. And what’s more, it’s already happening.

The digital/human touch

Singapore isn't the only smart city in the world. Across the US, many states are investing in smart city programs, including Texas. In fact, Austin has been ranked as having the best infrastructure in the country for building a smart city. 

A little further north from Austin, however, is the City of Amarillo. And while Amarillo was once known for being the ‘Helium Capital of the World’, it has a growing reputation for using other uplifting resources to enhance public services. Namely digital humans.

Emma is a UneeQ AI-powered digital human built so the City of Amarillo residents could gain better access to local and state government services. 

In Amarillo, 24% of citizens don't speak English as their first language at home, which can make interacting with public services daunting. Fortunately, Emma is fluent in approximately 100 languages, making it easier for all residents to access information about paying bills, using library resources, and other essential services.

The aim is to provide greater equity of access for the entirety of Amarillo’s citizens. Whoever you are, you don’t just have access to a website for important local information; you have someone you can speak to, ask questions of, and who will reduce friction to municipal services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Crucially, Emma isn’t a robotic face of a smarter city. She has her own unique personality and backstory that residents can relate to. She’s an Amarillo resident herself, born and bred, and is able to show emotions like warmth and empathy. It makes her far more approachable (and much less dystopian) than a typical chatbot or traditional self-service tools. 

"Our goal is to build a connected and engaged community that can foster a more prosperous future for the citizens of Amarillo," says Rich Gagnon, Chief Information Officer for the City of Amarillo.

Ultimately, digital humans can be designed to act as an authentic voice for their communities. They create real connections that mean people go away with both the information they need and the reassurance that someone's really listening to them.

Going beyond IQ in smart cities

It’s short sighted to think people want to live in, or visit, cities that are purely efficient, productive, and streamlined. They want to feel something too.

Emma is just one example of how smart cities can benefit from implementing emotive digital humans. Earlier this month we launched SARA, the new face of Saudi Arabia’s tourism endeavours. SARA will help visitors maximize their experiences in the nation, talking to people and then providing tailored recommendations so visitors make the most of their Saudi Arabian adventures.

In the near future, expect to see more digital humans acting as tour guides to boost regional tourism, as well as AI digital assistants who can tell residents about local history or events and projects happening in their area. 

Within healthcare, digital humans are helping people schedule doctors' appointments, provide health tips, or offer support for mental health and elderly care. They can also be used as smart infrastructure touchpoints in airports, train stations, and other public transport facilities. 

We're just beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible. And that makes it an exciting time – not just because of the power and potential of AI, but our ability to show that AI doesn’t have to be delivered through old text interfaces.

Fortunately, governments and those responsible for delivering smart cities increasingly understand that EQ is arguably just as important as IQ. Because cities don’t just have to be smart; they have to be places people connect to and want to live.