People first, technology second
When Frans-Anton Vermast, Amsterdam’s internationally recognised smart city ambassador, visited Australia earlier this year, his message was clear: a truly smart city starts and ends with people. Technology is not the goal—it is the tool. If technology is the answer, one should think again about what the real question is. That philosophy is worth remembering as artificial intelligence begins to move from hype to infrastructure in urban planning.
Amsterdam InChange: learning by doing
He mentioned the Amsterdam InChange initiative which has shown how technology, governance, and community engagement can align to create sustainable, citizen-driven change. The city’s approach—small-scale pilots, co-creation with residents, and a willingness to learn from failure—offers a sharp contrast to the top-down ‘smart city’ branding campaigns that often dominate political discourse. This bottom-up strategy aligns with Amsterdam’s core values of keeping citizens at the centre, delivering public value, operating transparently, and continually “learning by doing”.
AI at the heart of the next phase
AI now sits at the centre of the next phase of this evolution. Urban systems are becoming increasingly data-driven, and AI can make sense of information streams too complex for human analysis alone. From optimising energy flows in buildings to predicting traffic patterns or even anticipating maintenance needs in underground infrastructure, the opportunities are enormous.
Practical applications of AI in cities
For instance, AI-driven platforms can dynamically manage traffic flows by analysing live sensor and GPS data to adjust signal timings or recommend alternate routes in real time. Cities like Sydney and Los Angeles have implemented such adaptive traffic control, cutting intersection wait times and even reducing vehicle emissions by limiting idle time. On the sustainability front, machine learning is optimising how city resources are used—Barcelona’s waste management system, for example, uses smart bins with fill sensors and AI route planning so that garbage trucks only drive where needed, saving fuel and preventing overflowing trash. AI is also turning maintenance from reactive to proactive: sensors embedded in bridges, pipes, and transit lines feed data into predictive models that flag issues before they become failures. Tokyo’s freight management system has pioneered this kind of AI-driven maintenance scheduling, which has significantly reduced delays and safety incidents.
The risks of governance gaps
But as I have often argued in my work on smart cities, technology without governance is a recipe for problems. AI brings new layers of complexity—questions of transparency, bias, and the ethics of automation—into the already challenging domain of urban transformation. Cities need not only the technology but also the frameworks to ensure AI serves the public interest. This means embedding safeguards, ensuring open access to relevant data, and involving citizens in decision-making.
Amsterdam’s approach to ethical AI
In Amsterdam, this philosophy is put into practice by openly cataloguing its algorithms and their uses. The city has even established an open Algorithm Register for public scrutiny and conducts regular algorithmic impact assessments or “ethical audits” to catch issues like bias early. One initiative, ALG4AMS (“Algorithms for Amsterdam”), invites review of how automated decisions affect residents and makes sure new AI projects align with social values. Through measures like these, Amsterdam is aiming to ensure that AI deployments remain transparent, accountable, and firmly in service of the public interest.
Toward adaptive cities
If we combine the human-centred design principles of the Amsterdam model with the analytical power of AI, we can move beyond the old ‘efficiency first’ vision of smart cities. Instead, we can aim for what I would call “adaptive cities”—places that learn, evolve, and respond in real time to the needs of their communities.
A global blueprint for ethical innovation
As cities worldwide pursue this vision of adaptive, inclusive, and ethical urban innovation, Amsterdam’s experience offers a valuable blueprint. Its human-centred approach to AI governance—ranging from protecting digital rights to ensuring algorithmic transparency through a public register—ensures technology augments civic values rather than eroding them. By treating open data as a public asset and embracing the principle that city data should be available to everyone, Amsterdam empowers local innovators and residents to co-create solutions. The city’s recent pilot projects, tackling issues from mobility inequality to neighbourhood energy resilience and user-friendly digital services, show that AI can drive progress on sustainability and social inclusion in tandem. Additionally, AI is being used to bring government services closer to citizens—cities are streamlining permit processing, complaint handling and feedback channels with virtual assistants, so interacting with public services becomes easier and more inclusive for all.
Reinforcing digital rights and regaining public trust
Amsterdam’s leadership is also influencing the global conversation on digital rights and ethics. The city has joined forces with others through initiatives like the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights to ensure fundamental freedoms are upheld in smart city programs. Ultimately, the lesson Amsterdam provides is that the “smartest” cities of tomorrow will not be those with the most sensors or algorithms, but those that govern technology in a way that reinforces human values and public trust. By showing that AI can be harnessed transparently and equitably to improve daily life, Amsterdam is helping chart the path toward truly adaptive, inclusive, and ethical smart cities worldwide.
Frans Anton Vermast and Paul Budde