[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
THANK YOU.UH, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED, UH, WITH THAT THEN BEING CONFIRMED.
WHO'S NOT SPEAKING TO GO AHEAD AND MUTE THEMSELVES NOW AND WE'LL JUMP RIGHT IN.
THE THIRD I AM THE CHAIR OF THE 3D TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, UH, CALLING THE ORDER, OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING HERE TODAY, UH, DECEMBER THE EIGHTH.
AND WE BEGIN EVERY MEETING, UH, WITH A SYSTEM COMMUNICATION CALL AT THIS POINT, NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP, SO, UH, THAT'LL BE BRIEF, UH, AND WITH, PARDON ME, UH, WITH A ROLL CALL, ACTUALLY A CONFIRMING FOR OUR QUORUM PURPOSES.
AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND SINCE WE ALREADY HAVE IT, WE HAVE A TIGHT AGENDA AND I CAN SEE WHO'S ON THE CALL.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND STATE THE NAMES, EVERYONE WHO IS PRESENT.
SO YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING.
UH, SO PREVALENT AND CALLED COURSES MYSELF.
ALSO, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER SOPHIE GORROW, UH, COMMISSIONER SUMIT, DASGUPTA COMMISSIONER, DAVE FLOYD COMMISSIONER, AND THE FOUR VICE CHAIR, DAVID ALEXANDER.
AND THAT COMPLETES A QUORUM NOW
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 19, 2020]
TO AGENDA ITEM ONE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 19TH MEETING.UH, WE'VE ALL BEEN SENT A COPY OF THOSE MINUTES, UH, TO REVIEW.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO APPROVE THOSE QUICKLY AND I'LL BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE, TO HOLD A VOTE, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
I MOVE TO APPROVE THIS MEETING.
COMMISSIONER EATS THEN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES SPOT.
MR. YATES, IS THERE A SECOND? OKAY.
WE HAVE A MOTION A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED BY VICE CHAIR, DAVID ALEXANDER.
I WAS THAT THEM WE'LL HOLD THE VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED FOR THE NOVEMBER 19TH MEETING, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
IS THERE ANY ONE STANDING OR RATHER ANYONE DISSENTING ARE SUSTAINING? OKAY.
SO WE HAVE A, WE HAVE ONE THAT'S SUSPENSION BY COMMISSIONER FLOYD.
ARE THERE ANY VOTES TO NOT APPROVE THE MINUTES? OKAY.
THEN WITH THAT, THEN WE HAVE AN APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES WITH A VOTE OF FIVE IN FAVOR AND ONE ABSTENTION.
UM, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD POINT OF CLARIFICATION FOR, FOR, UH, FOR JESSE.
IF YOU'RE WITH US, WE CAN CONFIRM THAT.
OR IF NOT, THEN WE CAN, UH, TABLE THAT SHORT TO OUR NEXT MEETING.
SO THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TABLE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING AND WE'LL RECEIVE THEM THE AGENDA.
UH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE, UH, A COMMENT RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION USES RED AND GREEN, UM, LITTLE SIGNS TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, I APPROVE OR DON'T APPROVE.
IT KIND OF HELPS WITH CODING SOMETIMES RATHER THAN JUST MAKE A SPECIALTY THAT THE VOTES ARE QUITE OFTEN SPLIT WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THEY'RE NOT AS UNANIMOUS AS WE ARE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
UH, DEVIN TOOK IN CONSIDERATION, UH, BUT WE CAN RECEIVE THE AGENDA SINCE THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN TABLED AT THIS TIME.
[2.a. Good Systems – A UT Grand Challenge (Chris Stewart, Sara Smith, Ted Lehr, and Charles Purma)]
BRINGS US TO AGENDA ITEM, NUMBER TWO, STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.AND WE HAVE SEVERAL, SO HAVE SEVERAL
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GUESTS WAITING PATIENTLY, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS AND WE APPRECIATE THEM BEING HERE.SO OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE TIME, LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUMP INTO THOSE COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS BEGINNING WITH GOOD SYSTEMS, A UT GRAND CHALLENGE BY CHRIS STEWART, SARAH SMITH FED LAYER AND CHARLES FAIRMONT, AS WELL AS OTHERS THAT MAY BE PARTICIPATING.
UH, SO WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PASS THE BATON OFF TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SHOULD I WAIT FOR THE SLIDES OR JUST START? OH, THERE WE GO.
THANK YOU SO EVENING AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
UH, THIS IS NOT CHRIS STEWART.
UM, I'M AN IT MANAGER WITH THE CITY'S COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND MY TEAM LEADS THE CITY WIDE OPEN DATA PROGRAM, AS WELL AS FACILITATES A GROWING PORTFOLIO OF COMMUNITY-WIDE STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS OF WHICH WHAT YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT TONIGHT IS OUR FLAGSHIP.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH AI OR TO WORKING WITH UT IN THE FIELD OF AI AND IN PARTICULAR TO DO CIVIC GOOD, AND TO PRACTICE IT IN THE MOST ETHICAL AND EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE WAYS POSSIBLE.
UH, BEFORE I GET INTO THE CONTENT, I WANT TO THANK OUR UT PARTNERS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT AND ALL THE FOLKS THAT TO MANY DIMENSION AT THE CITY OF UT WHO ARE WORKING SIDE-BY-SIDE AND PUTTING IN COUNTLESS HOURS ON ALL THE INITIATIVES THAT WE'LL BE SPEAKING TO YOU ABOUT TONIGHT.
AND I HOPE THAT THEY ALL KNOW THAT THE WORK THEY'RE DOING IS, IS TRULY INSPIRING OTHER CITIES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, SO HOW DID ALL THIS BEGIN? SO AT A SMART CITY CONFERENCE IN 2018, OUR PREVIOUS CIO, THE CITY, UH, PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS GOING ALL IN ON AI.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF APPLAUSE AND SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE AUDIENCE.
AND WHEN HE GOT BACK TO THE, UH, THE CHAIR NEXT TO ME, I WHISPERED, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO GO ALL IN ON AI? AND HE SAID, WELL, HE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW, BUT DON'T WORRY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE THE ONES TO FIGURE IT OUT.
SO WITH THAT VISION AND THAT, AND THAT SUPPORT AND DIRECTION, UH, WE GOT DOWN TO REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND UPON OUR, OUR, UH, SWAT ANALYSIS AND CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER CITIES.
WE REALLY CONFIRMED THAT THAT COLLABORATION WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
AND THE KEY TO DOING AI IN THE ONLY WAY THAT WE SHOULD, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLY, ETHICALLY, AND VERY INTENTIONALLY ALIGNED WITH CITY AND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND VALUES.
UH, THE CITY IS ACTUALLY VERY WELL POSITIONED IN THIS FIELD.
WE HAVE BOOTS ON THE GROUND EXPERIENCE.
WE HAVE DIRECT CONNECTIONS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA, UH, AND A LOT OF INFORMATION, UH, AND WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF PULL ALL THOSE THINGS TOGETHER.
SO WE SAID, WELL, THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT THE CITY HAS IN SPADES.
WHAT WOULD A PERFECT PARTNER LOOK LIKE? WE SAID, WELL, SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH OF YET IS, IS REAL DEEP EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL, UH, BACKGROUND IN AI, MACHINE LEARNING, ADVANCED DATA SCIENCE.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE, UM, AS, UH, YOU KNOW, A STAFF OF, OF PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTAND THE PRACTICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AI.
UH, AND WE'RE NOT ALWAYS POISED TO, TO, TO DO LEADING EDGE RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENT WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS, IT IS SAFE AND DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE.
SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOKED AT WHAT THE PERFECT INGREDIENTS FOR A PERFECT PARTNER, UH, WE WERE VERY HAPPY TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE THE WORLD'S LEADER AS A FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND OF COURSE THAT IS A UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
UH, WE STARTED TALKING WITH THEM AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BRAINSTORMING ON WHAT A RELATIONSHIP WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND, UH, WE REALLY IMMEDIATELY SAW THE INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO US AND, AND REALLY SAT DOWN TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK.
UH, AND YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THAT JOURNEY TONIGHT.
AND YOU'LL SEE SOME OUTCOMES ALREADY PROJECTS AND PROCEDURAL ITEMS, UH, THAT REALLY, UM, EXEMPLIFY THIS, THIS BANNER YEAR OF COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT, UH, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO UT, UH, I MUST THANK SARAH SMITH AND TED LAYER WHO YOU'LL HEAR FROM LATER TONIGHT, THEY ARE ON MY TEAM AND IT'S A CLICHE TO SAY, BUT HONESTLY WE WOULD NOT BE HERE FOR THEM WITHOUT EVEN WITHOUT THEIR HARD WORK, THEIR DEDICATION, THEIR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES.
[00:10:01]
I WANT TO THANK JESSE RODRIGUEZ FOR ALL OF HIS HEALTH, ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS AND CORDRAY COORDINATING WITH US TONIGHT.UH, I SHOULD ALSO THANK OUR PREVIOUS CIO, STEVEN ELKINS FOR HIS ORIGINAL VISION IN EARLY SUPPORT AND OUR CURRENT INTERIM CIO, CHRIS STEWART FOR REALLY STEPPING IN AND EMBRACING, UH, OUR WORK.
UM, MUCH OF WHAT YOU HEAR ABOUT TONIGHT IS A LONG TIME COMING.
AND IT MUST BE MENTIONED THAT THIS WORK AND THESE, THIS PARTNERSHIP REALLY GOT A TURBO BOOST WHEN DEPUTY CITY MANAGER NURIA VANDERMEY RIVERA, UH, CAME TO THE CITY AND SAW THE VAST OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDED HER GUIDANCE AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM HER PREVIOUS, UM, PREVIOUS POSTS.
UM, FINALLY GRATITUDE IS DUE TO MAYOR ADLER FOR HIS INSPIRATION TO RECOGNIZE OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS, AS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE, AND, AND FOR SLIME AS DID ON HIS STAFF FOR GIVING US THE GUIDANCE AND THE SUPPORT AS WE STRIVE TO BE COLLABORATIVE BY DEFAULT, TO SOLVE THESE, THESE BIG HUMIDITY PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES.
UH, SO AT THAT POINT, I AM GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO JENNIFER LYON, GARDNER, WHO IS THE DEPUTY VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH.
SHE LEADS THE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND BRIDGING BARRIERS TEAMS IN THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND AUSTIN.
AND WE COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED AND THRILLED TO HAVE HER WITH US TONIGHT AND TO BE A PARTNER ON THIS JOURNEY.
THANKS SO MUCH, CHARLES AND I, I REALLY ECHO YOUR SENTIMENTS, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR REMARKS THAT, YOU KNOW, UT LIKE THE CITY, WE DO HAVE MANY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, UM, AROUND RESEARCH AND HAVE ALL OF THOSE, UM, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY THAT WE'VE REALLY GROWN OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, UM, WITH THE HELP OF YOUR TEAM AND ALSO WITH SUPPORT FROM NURIA AND FROM MAYOR ADLER AND CITY COUNCIL MOST RECENTLY IN, UH, APPROVING OUR MASTER LOCAL AGREEMENT, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY GREATLY VALUE IN PRISON AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
UM, I THINK THE CITY AND UT AUSTIN ARE BOTH VERY LARGE AND COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF ASSETS, A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE AND A LOT, A BIG BRAIN TRUST AT EACH, BUT IT ALSO CAN MAKE COLLABORATION'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE, UM, BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE WHAT THE RIGHT ENTRY POINT THE POINT IS FOR EITHER ORGANIZATION.
BUT, UM, I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE, UM, TED LAYER WHO WORKS WITH CHARLES, UM, COLD CALL MY OFFICE, UH, ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO, ASKING IF THERE WERE ANY RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY, UM, INTERESTED IN WORKING ON SMART CITIES, UM, CAUSE BECAUSE THEY WERE LOOKING AT AN EXTERNAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND WE'RE WONDERING IF THE CITY COULD PARTNER, AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THIS NOW AND FLOURISHING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY.
UM, FOR A LONG TIME, THERE HAVE BEEN VARIOUS ONE-ON-ONE PAIRINGS BETWEEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY, RESEARCHERS, AND CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICES, BUT THOSE HAVE BEEN DISJOINTED DIFFICULT TO TRACK.
UM, AND WITH EACH ONE WE'RE KIND OF REINVENTING THE WHEEL IN TERMS OF THE CONTRACTING VEHICLES, THE PROCESSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO, UM, WITH THE HELP OF CTM STAFF IS PUT TOGETHER A MUCH MORE STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER.
AND IT ALLOWS US, YOU KNOW, TO, IT ALLOWS US TO BRING WITH THE UNIVERSITY, HAS TO BEAR TO HELP US CITY SOLVE ITS MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN A VERY FORTUNATE COINCIDENCE THAT THE CITY HAS SUCH AN INTEREST IN AI BECAUSE IT JUST, JUST SO HAPPENS THAT THE UNIVERSITY HAD MADE A MAJOR INTERNAL INVESTMENT IN AI AND IN THE ETHICS AROUND AI, BY LAUNCHING THE GOOD SYSTEMS RESEARCH GRAND CHALLENGE.
UM, THIS IS A CHALLENGE THAT BRINGS TOGETHER CLOSE TO 50 FACULTY ACROSS ALMOST ALL COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS ON OUR CAMPUS.
AND THEY HAVE A SHARED GOAL WHICH IS DESIGNING AI TECHNOLOGIES, THAT BENEFIT SOCIETY.
UM, THEY'RE VERY STRONG ALIGNMENTS BETWEEN GOOD SYSTEMS IN BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND THAT WE'RE BOTH VERY CONCERNED WITH DATA PRIVACY, WITH FAIRNESS, WITH OTHER ETHICAL ISSUES AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES.
SO THIS YEAR, UH, GOOD SYSTEMS IN UT AUSTIN HAVE FUNDED SEVEN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE SHOWCASING A FEW OF THOSE FOR YOU HERE THIS EVENING.
UM, THESE PROJECTS HAVE INTERDISCIPLINARY AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY TEAMS, WHICH MEANS THAT CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF AND UT RESEARCHERS ARE WORKING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO SOLVE IMPORTANT PROBLEMS LIKE PROVIDING SERVICES TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OUR CITY OR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS.
WE ALSO HAVE RESEARCHERS FROM TEXAS ROBOTICS AND UTS NEW $20 MILLION NSF INSTITUTE FOR FOUNDATIONS AND MACHINE LEARNING, WORKING ON THESE TEAMS. UM, THEY'RE DOING THINGS LIKE EQUIPPING CITY FLEETS WITH COMPUTER VISION AND PERIPHERAL PERCEPTION TO DETECT INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR NEEDS AROUND THE CITY.
I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TOGETHER, EITHER WITH THE CITY.
UM, AND THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THESE WORK, OBVIOUSLY AS A RESEARCH INSTITUTION.
A LOT OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE'RE DOING IS CONTRACTUAL IN NATURE, BUT THERE'S EVEN GREATER VALUE
[00:15:01]
IN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY THAT'S NON-TRANSACTIONAL, UM, BEING ABLE TO HAVE MY TEAM WORKING CLOSELY WITH CHARLES AND THE CTM TEAM IS REALLY DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE NEW SMART CITY TECHNOLOGIES AND ENSURING THAT THOSE TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED IN ETHICAL AND TRANSPARENT WAYS.UM, AND I BELIEVE BY DOING THIS, WE'RE BECOMING NATIONAL LEADERS IN THE SPACE OF CITY UNIVERSITY, SMART CITY COLLABORATIONS.
UM, NOT LONG AFTER WE PUT THESE SEVEN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS IN PLACE, UH, JUST THIS PAST AUGUST, THE CITY AND UT ESTABLISHED TOGETHER A MASTER IN INTER-LOCAL LOCAL AGREEMENT, THAT'S GOING TO ENABLE EVEN MORE COLLABORATIONS, NOT ONLY WITH GOOD SYSTEMS, BUT ALSO WITH RESEARCHERS THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSITY, UM, AND WITH OFFICE AND WITH, AND WITH ALL CITY OFFICES, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THAT MASTER AGREEMENT FOR ME REALLY MARKED A CULMINATION OF, UM, OUR ORGANIZATION'S EFFORTS TO WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY AND MORE EFFICIENTLY TOGETHER.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT ALSO MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT LEVEL OF THIS GROWING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE UNIVERSITY.
IT'S A VERY UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP AND IT'S TURNED INTO A MODEL THAT OTHER CITIES AND UNIVERSITIES AROUND THE NATION ARE NOW WATCHING, UH, AND APPROACHING US FOR, FOR GUIDANCE ON HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK.
I, IN CLOSING, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR SERVICE AND ALSO, UM, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO SHARE, UH, OUR SHARE OUR PROGRESS WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED OUR PRESENTATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR COLLABORATIONS WITH THE CITY.
UM, WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN THINGS OVER TO ANDREA CHRISTELLE.
CRYSTAL IS A MEMBER OF MY TEAM AT UT AUSTIN.
SHE'S THE GOOD SYSTEMS AND NETWORK RELATIONSHIP MANAGER.
AND SHE'S THE MAIN POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS JOINT CITY, BOSTON GOOD SYSTEMS SERIES OF COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS.
SO ANDREA, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
I'M ANDREA CHRISTELLE AND I AM THE NETWORK RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR GOOD SYSTEMS. AND COULD I ASK THAT WE ADVANCE THE SLIDES PLEASE? AND ONE MORE PLEASE.
SO DESIGNING AI TECHNOLOGIES, THAT BENEFIT SOCIETY IS OUR GRAND CHALLENGE.
AND OUR VISION IS REALLY THAT THE RESEARCHERS THAT UT WILL GENERATE AI ETHICS PROTOCOLS THAT ARE WIDELY ACCEPTED AND CITED AND USED.
AND SO TO ACHIEVE THAT OUR MISSION IS THAT WE WILL CREATE HUMAN MACHINE PARTNERSHIPS, AND WE OFTEN HEAR ABOUT PEOPLE BEING DISPLACED BY MACHINES OR DISPLACED BY AI, BUT WE'RE REALLY FINDING THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO USE AI TECHNOLOGY IS WITH A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A PERSON AND AN AI TECHNOLOGY.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE USED TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS AND VALUES OF SOCIETY.
SO HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS RIGHT NOW? THERE ARE THREE MECHANISMS THAT WE'RE USING AND THE PRIMARY ONE ARE REALLY THE RESEARCH PROJECTS.
WE FUNDED 11 NEW PROJECTS THIS YEAR.
AND AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, SEVEN OF THOSE ARE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THE SECOND WAY WE DO THIS IS THROUGH THE GOOD SYSTEMS NETWORK.
THE GOOD SYSTEMS NETWORK IS GROUNDED IN RESEARCHERS FROM ALMOST 30 DISCIPLINES AT UT, BUT THEN WE CONNECT THOSE RESEARCHERS, YOU KNOW, WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS LIKE MEASURE, UM, AND ALSO WITH, UH, PARTNERS IN INDUSTRY AND LOCAL AI FIRMS. AND THEN THE THIRD MECHANISM THAT WE'RE USING ARE OUR RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS.
AND THEY, THESE ARE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AND AREAS OF EMPHASIS WITHIN AI THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED JUST THIS FALL.
AND IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, UM, WE WANT TO SHARE THESE RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS WITH YOU BECAUSE, UM, WE BELIEVE THROUGH OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH SARAH AND TED AND CHARLES, THAT THESE ARE ALSO REALLY ISSUES AND PRIORITIES FOR THE COMMISSION.
UH, THEY ARE CRITICAL SURVEILLANCE INQUIRY, DISINFORMATION, AND WE KNOW THAT DISINFORMATION IS A HUGE PROBLEM IN SOCIETY RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, THREATENS ELECTION SECURITY.
AND WE'VE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT OLDER ADULTS ARE SOME OF THE, UH, OUR, UH, POPULATION, UM, MOST VULNERABLE TO DISINFORMATION, UH, FAIR AND TRANSPARENT AI HAS TO DO WITH, UM, OUR ABILITY TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AI.
WE OFTEN GET RESULTS, UM, THAT ARE HIGHLY ACCURATE, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS INTERPRETABLE.
UM, FUTURE OF WORK IS REALLY LOOKING AT HOW AND, AND WHERE PEOPLE WORK AND HOW THAT'S CHANGING WITH AI TECHNOLOGY.
UM, PUBLIC INTEREST TECHNOLOGY IS A REALLY IMPORTANT FOCUS FOR US.
IT'S, UH, BASED GROUNDED IN TYPELINE AND, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, SO THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING TRAINED TO BE PROFICIENT IN AI TECHNOLOGIES, UM, ARE NOT JUST GOING TO WORK FOR FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS, BUT ARE ALSO ENTERING THE PUBLIC SECTOR,
[00:20:01]
MACHINE LEARNING AND ROBOTICS IS, UM, A STRONG EMPHASIS FOR US.AND WE'RE INTERESTED IN DEPLOYING THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN WAYS THAT, UM, WILL SERVE THE CITY.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT WHEN WE REVIEW OUR PROJECTS, UM, RACIAL JUSTICE IS A PRIORITY FOR US, AND WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TEAM MEMBERS THAT ARE MEETING REGULARLY RIGHT NOW WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND TED LAYER.
WE'LL SPEAK MORE ABOUT THAT LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION AND SMART CITIES, OF COURSE, UM, IS A VERY IMPORTANT FOCUS FOR US.
AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN THIS AREA AT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WE ARE BRIDGING BARRIERS BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND REAL WORLD PROBLEMS BY CONNECTING THESE DISCIPLINES, TECHNIQUES AND WAYS OF THINKING.
AND, AND WE THINK IT'S A REAL ADVANTAGE TO CONNECT OUR RESEARCHERS WITH CITY STAFF WORKING DIRECTLY ON PROJECTS TOGETHER.
SO WE DO HAVE SEVEN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS THAT ARE ENGAGING 12 CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENTS AND 13 DEPARTMENTS AND UNITS AT UT.
NOW I'M GOING TO TELL YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH OF THESE PROJECTS, UM, THAT HAVE BOTH CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF AND UT RESEARCHERS.
UM, THE AUSTIN AI HOUSING ANALYSIS ADDRESSES AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO A DEEP DIVE ON THAT, UH, RIGHT AFTER THIS, IN THE PROGRAM, INCLUSIVE AND TRUSTWORTHY AI GOVERNANCE DESIGN LOOKS AT HOW MANAGERIAL AND GOVERNANCE DECISIONS CAN BEST COMBINE DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS WITH HUMAN CENTERED VALUES.
SO WHEN A HUMAN AND A MACHINE ARE WORKING TOGETHER, WHERE DOES THAT HUMAN REALLY NEED TO STEP IN AND MAKE THE DECISION INSPECTION OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE VIA PERIPHERAL PERCEPTION, EQUIPS CITY FLEETS THAT ARE PERFORMING REGULAR TASKS, SUCH AS TRASH COLLECTION WITH COMPUTER VISION AND PERIPHERAL PERCEPTION TO PERFORM SECONDARY INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION TASKS LIKE LOOKING FOR POTHOLES.
SO THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REALLY INCREASE EFFICIENCIES ML FOR GIS DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING COMPUTER VISION METHODS TO ENHANCE ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA AND LARGE HISTORICAL MAP COLLECTIONS ADDRESSES CHALLENGES INVOLVED WITH A PROCESSING AND ANALYZING OF MAP IMAGES ON THIS SHOULD MAKE THE MAP DATA EASIER TO WORK WITH, AND IT WILL MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO CITY STAFF, AS WELL AS TO CITIZENS OPTIMIZE EMS RESPONSES DURING EXTREME EVENTS IS GOING, UM, TO IMPROVE AMBULANCE ALLOCATION DURING, UM, DISASTER EVENTS.
AND THIS, UH, SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AT VIRTUALLY NO COST BECAUSE IT WILL SYNTHESIZE REAL-TIME INFORMATION ON THE HOSPITAL'S CAPACITIES, THEIR CAPABILITIES, UH, CURRENT WAIT TIMES AS WELL AS TRAFFIC TO COORDINATE RESPONSE AMONG AMBULANCES.
SO, YOU KNOW, HURRICANES OR OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT TO, UM, ALLOCATE THESE RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY IN THIS PROJECT, UM, MAY REALLY IMPROVE IN THOSE AREAS.
CAMERA'S AI AND PUBLIC VALUES AND SMART CITIES, UM, INVESTIGATES COMPARATIVE POLICIES AROUND THE CREATION AND THE USE OF VIDEO DATA IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
AND, UH, PEOPLE WORKING ON THIS ARE REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO ISSUES LIKE DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY.
AND FINALLY SMART CITIES SHOULD BE GOOD CITIES, AI EQUITY AND HOMELESSNESS IS USING DATA AND AI TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, AND ALSO TO PROVIDE WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO THAT GIVES YOU A SENSE, A SENSE OF THE RANGE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE WORKING ON THESE PROJECTS AND, UM, NEXT IT'S MY PLEASURE TO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO DO A DEEP DIVE ON THE AUSTIN AI HOUSING ANALYSIS.
AND FOR THAT, UM, WE HAVE THE CHAIR OF THE GOOD SYSTEMS, EXECUTIVE TEAM, JIM FUNG, ZHAO.
UM, GOOD SYSTEMS IS GOVERNED BY AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF FACULTY AND, UM, REALLY BENEFITS FROM FACULTY LEADERSHIP.
SO JONATHAN ZHAO IS THE CHAIR OF THE GOOD SYSTEMS EXECUTIVE TEAM.
UM, HE'S THE HAMPTON K AND MARGARET FRY, SNELL AND DOW CHAIR AND TRANSPORTATION, AND AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, AS WELL AS THE FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF UTS URBAN INFORMATION LAB, DR.
SHAH'S RESEARCH FOCUSES ON URBAN INFORMATICS, BIG DATA, SMART CITIES AND SHARED MOBILITY.
SO
UH, I'M THE CHAIR OF ARGO SYSTEM IN GREG TEAM.
ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF URBAN INFORMATION LAB.
MY RESEARCH REALLY FOCUSED ON URBAN INFORMATICS, SMART CITY AND SMART TRANSPORTATION.
UH, IT'S MY OWNER TO WORK WITH, UH, UM, CTM TEAM CHAIRS, UH, TED AND SARAH, TO WORK CLOSER WITH CITY TO DEVELOP THIS PROJECT AND
[00:25:01]
MANY OTHER MORE PROJECT, I WANT TO SAY, THANK YOU FOR SARAH TED AND THE CHARET BECAUSE WHENEVER WE HAVE A QUESTION, THEY ALWAYS ARE THERE, THEY ARE SO HELPFUL AND SO BENEFICIAL FOR THIS COLLABORATION.UM, LET'S DIVE TO THIS, UH, ALL SEEING AI HARDING ANALYSIS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, UH, ALLSTON IS ONE OF THE MOST ECONOMIC SEGREGATED CITY IN THE U S ALSO WHILE THE FASTEST GROWING CITY IN THE US.
UM, ONE MAJOR PROBLEM IN HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.
UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE DON'T KNOW IN THE LOSS OF CERTAIN YET HOW THE DIFFERENT, HOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY AFFECTS AFFORDABILITY INSTEAD OF ALLSTON.
SO THAT'S A MAJOR TASK FOR THIS, UH, PROJECT TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION.
WE ASSEMBLE, UH, INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM FROM, UH, ARCHITECTURE, UM, SCHOOL, UM, SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, UH, SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND THE TEXAS, OTHERWISE THE COMPUTER CENTER.
WE ALSO HAD A VERY CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENT FROM HOUSING TO ENERGY, TO TRANSPORTATION.
WE HAVE A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP TO ALMOST, UH, UH, ALL THE DEPARTMENTS, UH, IN THE CITY TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION.
SO, UM, THIS IS JUST AS SOME PI OR THIS PROJECT FROM UT SIDE.
SO HOW DO WE EVALUATE HOW THE AFFORDABILITY PREVIOUSLY, WE JUST EVALUATED BASED ON PRICE OF HARDING, BUT THERE'S TURNOUT.
THAT'S NOT TRUE WHEN YOU'RE LEAVING A DIFFERENT LOCATION, YOU HAVE TO PAY TRANSPORTATION, YOU HAVE TO PAY ENERGY, YOU HAVE TO PAY OTHER COSTS.
SO SIMPLIFY THIS QUESTION, WE, UM, WHAT THEY COULD INTEGRATE AND HOW THEY PRICE AND IT'S SPLIT INTO THREE CATEGORIES.
THE FIRST CATEGORY IS OF COURSE IS HIGHER THAN PRICE.
THE SECOND CATEGORY IS A TRANSPORTATION COST.
WHERE ARE YOUR LEAVE GOING TO DIRECTLY AFFECT YOU? HOW MUCH YOU PAY TO DRIVE OR TO TAKE A, UH, TO GO TO WORK.
THE THIRD LAYER IS ENERGY CONSUMPTION.
UH, WE BASICALLY YOU'RE THIS THREE DIFFERENT DATA STREAM TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE HARDWARE AFFORDABILITY CHANGED ACROSS THE TIME IN THE LAST 13 YEARS WITH, UH, CHARLES, UH, TED AND SARAH'S HAVE WE ALREADY, UH, GATHERED THE DATA FROM A METER LEVEL ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL HOUSE.
AND WE ALSO GET THE APPRAISAL, UH, DATA IN THE LAST 30 YEARS FROM TRAVIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT.
THE TRANSPORTATION COSTS THE DATA, WHICH IS IN MY FIELD.
UM, AFTER WE COLLECT ALL THIS DATA, WE'RE GOING TO BETSY COULD BUILD MACHINE LEARNING AND AI FRAMEWORK, AI MODELS, TRYING TO EVALUATE PAST HARLAN DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT USES DATA RESULTS TO YOU EVALUATE THE DIFFERENT POLICY AFFECTS OR HOW THE AFFORDABILITY AND USE DATA RESULTS MAKE A PREDICTIONS WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE, UH, THE HOUSE, THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE FIRST MILESTONE IS A DATA REPOSITORY.
WE HAVE, UH, DEVELOPED, WE HAVE COLLECTED ALL THE REQUIRED DATA EXCEPT THE TRANSPORTATION DATA IN THE END THAT WE WILL DELIVER A WEB OF BEST OPEN DATA PORTAL OR PUBLIC TO ACCESS.
SO PEOPLE CAN ACCESS THE TRANSPORTATION COST DATA BASED ON THEIR LOCATION.
ALSO PEOPLE CAN ACCESS THE HOUSING PRICE DATA AS ON LOCATION OR ANY OF THE DATA BECAUSE THAT'S, UH, UH, RELATED TO PRI UH, RELATED TO INDIVIDUAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION.
WE WERE AGGREGATE AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST MILESTONE OR THE SECOND MILESTONE WHERE BEST TO GET TO, UH, UH, WE WILL DEVELOP A HOUSING AFFORDABILITY MODEL USING HISTORICAL DATA.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE DIFFERENT, HOW THE IN POLICY AFFECT AFFORDABILITY IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.
THE NUMBER OF THREE MILESTONE IS WE TRYING TO PROVIDE SOME AI ASSISTANT SCENARIO OR POLICY GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE, UH, HOW THEN DEVELOPMENT AND THE UKRAINE, UH, UNDER, UH, EQUITY EVALUATION FOR CITY OF AUSTIN.
THIS IS BASICALLY A PREDICTIVE MODEL.
WE WILL USE A HISTORICAL DATA TO MAKE, UH, UH, FUTURE PREDICTIONS, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE EAST SIDE, KEEP GENTRIFICATION, SHOULD WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT? WHERE'S THE MOST GENTRIFIED THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOW FAST THEY GENERALLY FIND AND WHY THEY'RE JANUARY FIVE? HOW CAN WE DO TO PROVIDE A MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING? SO THAT WILL BE ALL IN A CATEGORY THREE.
THE LAST PART, WE WERE A HOST DIFFERENT PUBLIC, A WORKSHOP, UH, TO INTRODUCE THIS, A DATA AND A MESSAGE TO THE RESEARCHER AND TO THE POLICY MAKERS.
WE REALLY WANT TO THIS RESEARCH BE USED BY POLICY MAKERS,
[00:30:01]
BY MAYOR, BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, BY MANAGER, BY THE HEAD OF A PARTY AND A PLANNING DEPARTMENT, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, ENERGY DEPARTMENT.WE WANT TO PUT IT AS A YOUTH, NOT JUST A PUBLISHED SOME PAPERS.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, INTRODUCE MY, UM, GREAT COLLEAGUE, SARAH SMITH FROM A CTM, THE PROUD MOMENT, SARAH IS A SENIOR ITBC AND THE ANALYST FROM THE CITY, AND THEY, SHE HAD BEEN PROVIDED A TREMENDOUS HAVE OTHER, UH, THIS PROJECT AND FOR THE ECOSYSTEM PROJECT, SARAH ARE TURNING OVER TO YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH SYMPHONIC, UM, BUILDING OFF THE PROJECT LIST AND DESCRIPTIONS INJURY SHARED EARLIER, UH, HERE'S A MORE DETAILED VIEW OF THE GOOD SYSTEMS PROJECTS.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS HOW EACH PROJECT IS ALIGNED TO BOTH UTS RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS, AS WELL AS THE CITY OF BOSTON STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 2023 GOALS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT EVERY PROJECT HAS NUMEROUS CONTRIBUTING DEPARTMENTS FROM BOTH UT AUSTIN AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WHAT'S UNIQUE AND SPECIAL ABOUT THESE COLLABORATIONS IS THAT THEY BRING GROUPS TOGETHER THAT DON'T TYPICALLY WORK TOGETHER.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND DEPARTMENT OF POPULATION HEALTH AT UT ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO RESEARCH INCLUSIVE AND TRUSTWORTHY AI GOVERNANCE, AND FOR THE INSPECTION OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE VIA PERIPHERAL PERCEPTION PROJECT.
WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE WORKING TOGETHER WITH UTS ARCHITECTURE AND COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS.
THE DIVERSITY OF EXPERTISE ACROSS THESE TEAMS BRINGS UNIQUE STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULDN'T BE REALIZED.
OTHERWISE, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AS THE PREVIOUS LIGHT POINTED OUT, THESE PROJECTS ARE INTENTIONALLY ALIGNED WITH UT AND CITY OF AUSTIN PRIORITIES.
BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, UT AUSTIN AND CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF COLLABORATIVELY DESIGNED A WORKSHOP TO EXPLORE ROOM OR REAL-WORLD CITY CHALLENGES AND HOW AI AND MACHINE LEARNING MIGHT BE APPLIED TO HELP SOLVE THEM.
TURNOUT EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS.
THE NETWORKING ALONE MADE THE EVENT A HUGE SUCCESS CITY STAFF GOT TO MEET UT RESEARCHERS AND LEARN ABOUT THEIR EXPERTISE AND INTERESTS IN UT.
RESEARCHERS GOT TO MEET CITY STAFF AND DISCOVER WAYS THEIR EXPERTISE COULD BE APPLIED TO REAL WORLD CHALLENGES.
AT THE END OF THE HALF DAY WORKSHOP, INITIAL PROJECT TEAMS WERE FORMED AND AFTER THE WORKSHOP, MANY OF THOSE TEAMS CONTINUED WORKING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP FORMAL PROJECT PROPOSALS.
ON MAY 1ST, SEVEN OF SEVEN CITY OF AUSTIN COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR GOOD SYSTEMS YEAR TWO FUNDING.
THESE SEVEN PROJECT TEAMS HAVE A YEAR LONG JOURNEY TOGETHER AND WELL OVER A MILLION RESIDENTS AND CITY STAFF STAKEHOLDERS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT THROUGH THEIR AI RESEARCH, STRONG TEAMING AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEEDS AND GOALS OF OUR UT AND CITY OF AUSTIN ORGANIZATIONS ARE CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS FOR MOST OF OUR PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS ON BOTH THE UT AND CITY OF AUSTIN SIDE.
THIS TYPE OF NON TRANSACTIONAL COLLABORATION IS A BRAND NEW CONCEPT AND EXPERIENCE IN THIS TYPE OF TEAMWORK.
SIMPLE, EVERY PART IS PLANNING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING FACILITATION AND CO-CREATION SKILLS AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.
OTHER CITIES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE LOOKING TO AUSTIN TO REPLICATE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES THAT CHARLES AND JENNIFER MENTIONED EARLIER TO SET THESE TEAMS UP FOR SUCCESS.
OUR CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAMS. CO-CREATED A SECOND WORKSHOP LAST MONTH TO PROMOTE TEAM BUILDING AND COLLABORATION.
WE HOSTED SEVERAL PRESENTATIONS TO ILLUSTRATE THE ALIGNMENT OF THESE PROJECTS TO AUSTIN SMART CITIES EFFORTS AND SHARED LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST CITY OF AUSTIN AND UT COLLABORATIONS.
WE ALSO FACILITATED A REMOTE SESSION USING ZOOM AND AN ONLINE WHITE BOARDING TOOL CALLED NEURON TO HELP THE TEAMS EXPLORE A SERIES OF TOPICS, INCLUDING COMMUNITY OUTCOMES, STAKEHOLDER NEEDS, COLLABORATION, GOALS, AND STRATEGIES WITH TWO SUCCESSFUL WORKSHOPS UNDER OUR BELT.
NOW IN A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP, WE ARE ALL ALREADY PLANNING OUR NEXT COLLABORATIVE WORKSHOP IN FEBRUARY.
THE GOAL OF THIS EVENT IS TO IDENTIFY A NEW ROUND OF POTENTIAL PROJECTS AND TEAMS TO ALIGN WITH THE CITY'S BUDGET CYCLE.
SO THAT STAFF HAD TIME TO INCLUDE NEW OR CONTINUED PROJECTS WITH UT AND THEIR DEPARTMENT BUDGETS.
CHARLES WILL SPEAK TO THIS MORE LATER IN OUR PRESENTATION.
HOWEVER, I WILL NOTE HERE THAT WE WILL LIKELY LOOK TO THIS COMMISSION FOR RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUPPORT RELATED TO THIS WORKSHOP IN A RESULTING PROJECTS,
[00:35:01]
UH, WITH THAT, UM, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MY COLLEAGUE TED LAYER.TED IS AN ITEM DATA ARCHITECT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, TED ALTERNATIVE OVER TO YOU.
UM, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
IT SHOULD BE CLEAR BY NOW THAT, UH, UT IS A PARTNER.
IT'S A, IT'S A STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR THE CITY, AND I WOULD ARGUE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT UNTIL THIS YEAR, I'M DOING LARGE PROJECTS TOGETHER.
I HAVE BEEN COMPLEX SOMETIMES TAKING MANY MONTHS OFF AND OVER A YEAR TO, TO, UH, DESIGN NEGOTIATE AND FARM AS JENNIFER POINTED OUT, UH, JUST THIS PAST AUGUST, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A FIVE-YEAR SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR, UH, MASTER INTER-LOCAL AGREEMENT AND AGREEMENT THAT APPLIES TO THE ENTIRE CITY BETWEEN THE CITY AND UT IT PROLIFERATES PRE NEGOTIATED TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND REMOVES THE LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SLOWDOWNS THAT HAVE BEEN PLAGUING THESE AGREEMENTS OVER THE YEARS ON BOTH SIDES.
IT'S NOT JUST ON THE CITY SIDE, OUT OF THESE FUNDING.
THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN PRE-APPROVED THAT C SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
IT WAS NOT PRE-ALLOCATED DEPARTMENTS STILL HAVE TO COME UP WITH THOSE FUNDS.
THEY STILL HAVE TO PUT IT IN THEIR BUDGET.
SO, AS I SAID, THE ILA IS AVAILABLE TO ALL THE DEPARTMENTS INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH UT.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED AS A COMMISSION IN LEVERAGING IT OR LEARNING MORE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOU.
IF YOU HAVE PROJECTS IN MIND, YOU THINK YOU'D LIKE TO, UM, FACILITATE BETWEEN THE CITY AND UT OR WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO HEARING, HEARING ABOUT THEM.
THE STORY BEHIND GETTING THIS AS ILA IS INSPIRING AND XL.
WE, WE, AS JENNIFER SAID, WE REACHED OUT TO HER AND HER COLLEAGUES AND WE WERE STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THE BOTTLENECKS ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEADS ON BOTH SIDES OF DESIGN THIS.
AND SINCE THEN HAS BEEN, AS IT BEEN ALLUDED TO BY OTHER SPEAKERS, UNIVERSITIES, MIT, AND HARVARD SAY, HOW DID YOU DO THIS? CAN YOU HELP US DO THIS WITH BOSTON, SAN ANTONIO SAID, HOW DID YOU DO THIS? WE DID THIS.
CAN YOU HELP US DO THIS? CREATE A, CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY WITH OUR UNIVERSITY, YOU KNOW, UT SAN ANTONIO, UT AUSTIN, AND THEN COLUMBIA IN NEW YORK CITY SAID, OH, HOW DID YOU DO THIS? AND SO I SAID, WELL, IT TOOK ABOUT TWO YEARS OF GETTING IT THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
AND THEY SAID IT TAKES TWO YEARS TO GET ANY AGREEMENT WITH NEW YORK CITY.
SO THIS WAS A REALLY A SEMINAL EVENT IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH UT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO BUILDING ON IT ON FORWARD.
SO WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE JOURNEY, SOME OF THE PROJECTS, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, BUT NOW WHERE ARE WE, WHERE ARE WE THINKING? WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? WHAT'S BIG CITY, BIG CITY PLANS.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF SEPARATE THIS UP INTO THREE SECTIONS HERE.
I'M GOING TO KIND OF PAINT THE PICTURE OF THE FUTURE.
UH, ANDREW IS GOING, GONNA KIND OF TALK ABOUT HOW WE GET THERE.
AND THEN TED IS GOING TO USE A POTENTIAL FUTURE PROJECT TO, TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THIS, HOW THIS HAPPENS.
UM, SO WHEN IN SPEAKING WITH, WITH UT AND OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, EVERYONE PRETTY MUCH AGREES THAT THE VISION FOR AUSTIN NEEDS TO BE SHARED BY EVERYONE.
IT NEEDS TO BE A COMMUNITY WIDE COMPETENCY, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING PEOPLE ALONG, UH, ALONG THE WAY, UH, AND, AND HAVE THIS, UH, KIND OF GENERAL, GENERAL AI LITERACY.
UH, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE WITHIN THE CITY THAT LOOKS LIKE LEVERAGING AI AND MACHINE LEARNING, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO, TO, UM, INCREASE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND EFFECTIVENESS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, TO ALLOW DECISION MAKERS, TO MAKE MORE PREDICTIVE AND PROACTIVE, UH, DECISIONS, UM, FOR US TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES, UH, TO CITIZENS IN A MUCH MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, APPROACHABLE AND, UM, UH, DIGITAL WAY, UH, TO HAVE A BETTER COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE WITH, WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
UH, AND THEN AT THE CITY, AND THEN AT THE CITIZEN OR THE RESIDENT SIDE, IT LOOKS LIKE MAKING SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHEN AI IS BEING USED.
IT IS, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S, OR IT'S BEING DONE WITH FOLKS AND NOT TO FOLKS.
UM, AND THAT, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE BRINGING WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE, KEEPING TRANSPARENCY, HAVING FEEDBACK LOOPS THE ENTIRE WAY SO THAT WE'RE ENSURING A SAFE AND EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
UM, SO THAT'S A VERY BIG VISION, UH, PICTURE, UH, FOR THE CITY.
AND SO NOW I'LL TURN IT BACK TO ANDREA TALK ABOUT, WELL, HOW, HOW MIGHT WE, HOW MIGHT WE START TO, TO GET THERE? THANKS, CHARLES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE IN GOOD SYSTEMS, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED
[00:40:01]
ON CONTINUING THIS PRACTICE OF, UH, SHARING DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE, THE RESEARCH EXPERTISE THAT UT AND THE, ON THE GROUND KNOWLEDGE THAT, UH, THE CITY STAFF HAVE, AND TO CONTINUE THAT ITERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS SHARED AND RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE USED TO IMPLEMENT REAL WORLD PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THESE INTERDISCIPLINARY AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY TEAMS ALREADY, BUT THAT'S REALLY SOUNDS, YOU KNOW, VERY SIMPLE, BUT IT'S REALLY QUITE COMPLEX BECAUSE OFTEN, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE FACULTY AT UT, BUT THEY OFTEN WORK IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS IN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO DO THAT, BUT WE HAVE REALLY SUCCEEDED IN GOOD SYSTEMS BY PUTTING A FOCUSED EFFORT ON THAT.
AND THEN IT'S REALLY FURTHER COMPLICATED BY WORKING WITH PEOPLE IN A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION.
BUT AGAIN, WE'RE REALLY SUCCEEDING WITH ALL OF THESE, UM, TEAMS THAT WE HAVE WITH CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF.
SO AS WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE, SOMETIMES WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND WE HOPE CERTAINLY THAT THERE ARE NEW PROJECTS, BUT ALSO WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING WELL.
AND SO FOR US, IT'S REALLY, UM, KEEPING THESE TEAMS TOGETHER IN THE WAY THAT THEY'RE WORKING AND ENABLING MORE TEAMS TO WORK IN THIS WAY.
AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT AN, AN EFFORT THAT'S UNDERWAY NOW THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER CONNECTED TO RACIAL JUSTICE.
UM, AND TED'S GOING TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THAT.
THANK YOU, ANDREA, AS YOU MIGHT KNOW THE CITY, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF VENDORS TRYING TO SELL US, UM, ECOLOGY, AI TECHNOLOGY, OR WHAT THEY CALL AI TECHNOLOGY.
SOMETIMES IT'S JUST ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS, BUT WE HAVE NO POLICIES OR TOOLS FOR ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF THE AI, ESPECIALLY WHETHER IT CONTAINS UNWANTED BIAS.
UM, MORE PRECISELY, WE ARE NOT SURE HOW TO RECOGNIZE, DEFINE, DETECT, OR MEASURE BIAS BECAUSE OF THAT.
WE ARE GOING TO BE STARTING, WE'RE STARTING OUR PROJECT.
WE'RE HAVING DISCUSSIONS, UH, AS, AS, ALMOST AS WE SPEAK, CERTAINLY NEXT WEEK, WE EXPECT TO HAVE A MEETING THAT WE'RE BRINGING BOTH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND THE RACIAL JUSTICE TEAM OF GOOD SYSTEMS. WE ARE BRINGING TOGETHER THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AND A FEW OTHERS, UM, TO HAVE A DISCUSSION OF WHAT CAN WE DO, HOW DO, WHAT KIND OF, WHAT DO WE EXPECT TO BE USING AI FOR IN THE NEAR FUTURE? WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO GET, UM, OVER TIME IS A FRAMEWORK AND A SET OF GUIDELINES AND PRINCIPLES FOR SUPPORTING THE CITY'S ABILITY TO MITIGATE THE PRESENCE AND EFFECTS OF BIAS IN THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ADOPT.
WE'D LIKE TO HAVE GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE TECHNOLOGIES, PERHAPS TOOLS, PERHAPS DATA SETS THAT WE CAN TEST AGAINST, OR FOR ANY TECHNOLOGIES YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING.
WE'RE HOPING FOR A REPORT THAT MAPS THE CHALLENGES.
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO USE AI WITH DATA ANALYTICS AND MACHINE LEARNING, UH, EXPERTISE THAT UT PRESENTS THE LONG-TERM DELIVERABLE.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKSHOP, PERHAPS AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CITY AND COMMUNITY FOLKS WOULD BE TO PARTICIPATE IN.
SO WE HAVE A COMMUNITY CITY UNIVERSITY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE WANT OUT OF AI, WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT, WHAT WE SHOULD TEST FOR, AND WHICH WE SHOULD DEMAND FROM, UH, THE VENDORS THAT ARE SELLING US THIS TECHNOLOGY.
NOW WE, WE EXPECT TO START RAMPING THIS UP, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, MORE STRONGLY AFTER THE HOLIDAYS AND THEN LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING.
WE WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A REPORT AT SOME TIME AND, UH, NEXT, UH, IN THE SPRING.
SO I'LL HAND IT BACK OVER TO CHARLES.
AND WE'RE ON THE HOME STRETCH.
UH, WE DIDN'T DO THIS PRETTY QUICKLY HERE JUST AS A, AS A WRAP UP.
SO HOW CAN THIS COMMISSION HELP US? UH, WE, WE PICKED THREE GENERAL AREAS AND THIS IS MORE FOR, YOU KNOW, TO START THIS CONVERSATION, THIS DIALOGUE, AND THIS ONGOING RELATIONSHIP, UM, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, TO GET SOME IDEAS AND START BRAINSTORMING AROUND SOME ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST ONE IS OBVIOUSLY TO, UH, TO KEEP, UH, SUPPORT AND, UH, VISIBILITY, UH, ON THESE GOOD SYSTEMS PROJECTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS CAN, CAN LOSE STEAM OR MOMENTUM, AND THESE ARE VERY COMPLEX, UH, LONG-TERM PROJECTS.
SO THEY NEED THE SUSTAINED, UM, VISIBILITY, THE SUPPORT, AND PERHAPS, UM, ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, SO, SO FOR THE CURRENT PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PLACE, I'M GOING TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THEM.
AND THEN AS SARAH MENTIONED, WE'RE GOING TO CONVENE IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH, UH, TO DO MORE PROJECT FORMATION IN PRIORITY ALIGNMENT.
UH, SO THERE MIGHT, AGAIN, MIGHT BE, UH, AREAS WHERE YOU CAN HELP US ALIGN PRIORITIES, IDENTIFY, UH, IDENTIFY FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND AS WELL AS HELP WITH ANY KIND OF BUDGET, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE FOR THOSE
[00:45:01]
PROJECTS AND ANY OTHER AI RELATED TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT THEY KIND OF COME ACROSS YOUR, YOUR TABLE, UH, THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD NEED SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE.UM, AND THEN IN THAT LONG-TERM VISION THAT WE JUST WRAPPED UP TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE GOING TO EVENTUALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, START TO BUILD, FIND EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED INTERNALLY AT THE CITY AND BUILD OUT OUR STAFFING AND OUR SUSTAINABILITY MODEL THERE.
SO AS WE START TO IDENTIFY NEW JOBS, SKILLS, ROLES, AND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, I THINK WE WILL LOOK FOR, UH, LOOK TO YOU FOR GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT, UM, IN, IN THE, IN THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY THAT WE'RE BUILDING OUT.
AND THEN I THINK GENERALLY JUST ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN ADVOCACY, IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THIS COMMUNITY, UH, COMMUNITY WIDE APPROACH, UM, WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
COULD THAT BE, FOR EXAMPLE, AN AI ADVISORY COUNCIL OR AN ADVISORY BOARD THAT IS MADE UP OF COMMISSIONERS, UM, CITY LEADERSHIP, COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, UM, UT YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE, IT COULD BE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS ON, ON HOW WE REALLY GO ABOUT DOING THIS.
BUT I THINK WE, AGAIN, THIS IS AN IDEA TO START, START US ALL THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT ENTITY OR WHAT THAT ORGANIZATION MIGHT LOOK LIKE, UH, TO, TO GET US TO THAT FUTURE OF A COMMUNITY-WIDE COMPETENCY IN AI.
SO WITH THAT, HOPEFULLY THAT GETS PEOPLE THINKING AND STARTS TO DEVELOP SOME GOOD QUESTIONS, BECAUSE WE ARE FINALLY AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND I BELIEVE, UH, THANK YOU TO ALL THE PRESENTERS.
UH, SO WE'LL BE, UH, OPEN FOR QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHARLES, UH, AND ALL THE OTHER SPEAKERS.
AND THAT WAS, UH, A GREAT INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION, UH, VERY EXCITING, UH, TO HEAR ABOUT THE COLLABORATION AND ALL THAT IS HAPPENING.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BOUND TO BE SEVERAL QUESTIONS AMONGST THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
UH, I HAVE SOME OF MYSELF, BUT THE MAIN ONE, UH, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, I'D LIKE TO FIRST MAKE A STATEMENT, UH, UH, THAT YOU CERTAINLY HAVE OUR SUPPORT, UH, FOR THE THREE, UH, ACTIONABLE WAYS THAT YOU SEE THE COMMISSION, UH, BEING ABLE TO PLAY.
UM, I WISH THAT FLAG WAS STILL UP, BUT IN SPEAKING, IN TERMS OF, AND, UH, AND ALSO ENCOURAGING THE ONGOING EFFORTS, UH, AND, AND SO ON, UH, IN PARTICULAR, THE WORKSHOP TAKING PLACE IN FEBRUARY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE OF COURSE, TO ASK THAT WE CAN BE INCLUDED IN THAT, UH, PROJECT EXPLORATION AND BUDGET PLANNING, UH, WORKSHOP, UM, IN, IN SOME CAPACITY THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF THAT.
UH, WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO GIVE MY PEERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, WE MAY HAVE SEVERAL, UH, I WISH I HAD A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO, UM, TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND LET ME KNOW, BUT IF YOU COULD, UH, JUST GO AHEAD AND LET ME KNOW THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION, I'LL IDENTIFY YOU.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET THE QUESTION INTO THE RECORD, BUT THANK YOU AGAIN.
SO LET US COMMISSIONER, UH, THE GROUP, UH, YES, PLEASE GO RIGHT AHEAD.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, TO ALL THE SPEAKERS, THIS WAS A PHENOMENAL PRESENTATION.
SO I COME FROM A BACKGROUND WHERE I ACTUALLY STARTED DABBLING IN AI FROM 1982.
I HAD A TEAM MEMBER THAT I ASSIGNED TO WRITE SIMPLE EXPERT SYSTEMS, TO DEVELOP TOOLS, TO HELP CHIP DESIGNERS AT IBM, UH, REMOVE SOME OF THE MUNDANE TASKS, NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE DESIGNERS COOPERATED WITH ME SINCE THEY WERE AFRAID THAT IT WOULD REPLACE THEIR JOBS.
SO THAT'S ONE FEAR THAT YOU WILL ENCOUNTER AS YOU GO FORWARD EVEN TODAY.
AND SO I THINK YOU NEED TO GET PREPARED FOR THAT, THE FEAR OF WHAT AI WILL DO TO THEIR LIVES.
SECONDLY, WHAT WILL IT DO TO THE PRIVACY OF INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE ACCUMULATE AND ALSO ADD TO? SO MY SUGGESTION IS, YES, I THINK THIS COMMISSION SHOULD BE A PARTNER IN MAKING SURE THAT THIS PROJECT GOES FORWARD.
BUT ANOTHER AVENUE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE NEWSLETTERS.
I THINK YOU NEED TO LATCH ONTO THOSE NEWSLETTERS TO EDUCATE THE CITIZENS.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
I THINK YOU SHOULD SOME OR OTHER SQUIRREL INTO THAT AGENDA AND MAKE AT LEAST A FIVE TO 10 MINUTE PRESENTATION SO THAT YOU CAN CARRY ALL THE CITIZENS FORWARD.
[00:50:01]
IF EXPERTS DON'T WANT TO PLAY, LIKE, IN MY CASE IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES, THE CITIZENS WILL BE SCARED TO DEATH OF PLAYING WITH YOU.DASGUPTA I'M NOT SURE IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT DIRECTLY.
UH, I, I, I WILL SAY THAT IN ALMOST ALL OF OUR, OF OUR MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS, THE TWO THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT, WELL, IT'S PROBABLY THE THREE THINGS WE TALK ABOUT THE MOST IS, IS, IS, IS PRIVACY ISSUES.
UM, THE SECOND ONE IS, IS, IS, IS THE WORKFORCE DISPLACEMENT OR WORKFLOW, UH, YOU KNOW, CHANGES IN THE WORKFORCE, BOTH FROM, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL, WHAT THAT HAPPENS FOR THEIR JOBS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN, AND THEN EQUITY AND INCLUSION IS THE THIRD THING.
SO I WOULD SAY THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE AT THE TOP OF TH THOSE ARE PARTS OF IT.
ALMOST EVERY DISCUSSION WE HAVE THAT, THOSE THREE, THOSE THREE TOPICS, THERE'S THREE ITEMS. WE HAVEN'T OBVIOUSLY SOLVED IT OR FIXED IT, OR NO, THE, THE SILVER BULLET FOR THOSE THINGS, BUT, UM, ARE ALWAYS TOP OF MIND AND PRIORITIES.
I KNOW FOR, UH, FOR ALL OF THE CONDITIONERS, UM, I'D LIKE TO GIVE ANYONE ELSE AN OPPORTUNITY THAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK IF YOU COULD PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF FIRST.
UH TIRPITZ THIS IS MALCOLM YATES.
I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS HERE.
SO IT WAS MENTIONED THAT THERE'S VENDORS THAT ARE TRYING TO SELL YOU AI PRODUCTS ALREADY.
SO ARE THERE ANY INDUSTRY STANDARD COMMERCIAL PLATFORMS FOR CREATING
IS THERE ANYTHING LIKE THAT, SOME LEADING GROUP THAT HAS SOME KIND OF AI, UM, COMMERCIAL PRODUCT? YEAH.
I'LL TAKE THE FIRST STEP AT THIS AND THEN SOMEONE ELSE CAN, CAN JUMP IN.
UM, RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE GARTNER HYPE CYCLE WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF VENDORS COMING IN VERY EARLY ON, AND EVERYONE SAYS THEY HAVE AI AND THEY DO AI, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET EVERYBODY, WE VERY EXCITED ON BOARD.
AND THEN, THEN YOU KIND OF HAVE THIS, THIS CREST OF, I THINK, YOU KNOW, DISILLUSIONMENT THAT STARTS TO HAPPEN, WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WELL, THIS YOU, WE'RE CALLING THIS AI, THAT TED MENTIONED IT EARLIER.
IT'S REALLY JUST ADVANCED, YOU KNOW, DATA ANALYTICS, OR MAYBE IT'S JUST ADVANCED VISUALIZATION.
UH, AND, AND THEN, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE KIND OF STARTING TO WEED OUT THE, THE, THE FOLKS THAT REALLY AREN'T DOING TRUE AI AND ML.
UH, AND I WOULD SAY WE'RE, YOU KNOW, STARTING TO IDENTIFY THE, KIND OF THE STANDARD BEARS AND LEADERS IN THE FIELD, ALL YOUR BIG NAME, UM, ALL YOUR BIG NAME, IT COMPANIES HAVE SOME SORT OF A AI PLATFORM AND THEY'RE ALL SIMILAR, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL AT LIKE, SO THAT MAKES IT MAKE IT DIFFICULT.
WE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS GET AHEAD OF THAT, GET AHEAD OF THAT GAME SO THAT WHEN THE VENDORS DO COME TO US, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE EXACTLY WHAT OUR DEMANDS WOULD BE FROM A SECURITY AND PRIVACY STANDPOINT.
UM, SO YEAH, I'M NOT GOING TO GO OUT AND NAME WHICH ONES WE THINK ARE THE TOP OR THE BEST, BECAUSE I WOULDN'T EVEN REALLY REALLY KNOW RIGHT NOW.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE THAT STARTING TO MAKE ITSELF EVIDENT, BUT STILL, STILL KIND OF WORKING THERE, WORKING ON THAT TO CHARLES.
OH, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A COMMISSIONER.
YOU'D SAY I THINK THAT THAT WAS EXCELLENT QUESTION.
AND IT'S ONE THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IN THE WORLD.
ECONOMIC FORUM ACTUALLY, UM, PUT TOGETHER A SET OF PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, FOR THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD KEEP IN MIND WHEN THEY'RE PURCHASING AI SERVICES.
AND THE UK GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY ADOPTED THOSE GUIDELINES IN JULY THIS YEAR AND IN FEBRUARY OF 2021, UM, GOOD SYSTEMS AND THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, WE'LL HAVE A WEEK OF PROGRAMMING WHERE THEY'RE TAKING THESE PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES THAT WERE DEVELOPED FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS AND LOOK AT HOW THEY MIGHT BE ADOPTED TO STATE LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS.
BUT CERTAINLY IN THE NAME OF OUR PROGRAM IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOVERNMENTS BUY AI? SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
IT'S ONE THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS ON THAT.
AND, UM, WE WILL HAVE PROGRAMMING, UH, AGAIN IN FEBRUARY, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY
[00:55:01]
PASS THAT INFORMATION ALONG TO SARAH AND CHARLES AND TED, AND SHARE THAT WITH YOU AND INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE.AND, AND ONE OF, UM, THE PANELS WILL BE FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
AND I KNOW YOU'LL HAVE, UM, PEOPLE FROM THE CITY PARTICIPATING ON THAT.
UH, I JUST DON'T WANT TO ADD A INJURY AS POINTS.
SO, UM, AND LET ME GIVE YOU A COOKIE DUMP OUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AI MACHINE LEARNING AND DEEP LEARNING.
JUST IMAGINE THERE THERE'S ONLY, UH, THERE'S UH, THE FIRST LAYER IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT'S MEANS ANY MACHINE CAN MIMIC HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
THAT'S THE FIRST LAYER WITHIN THIS LAYER IS MACHINE LEARNING.
THAT'S BEST A GREAT MACHINE CAN LEARN FROM DATA AND SUPERVISOR LEARNING AND ALL SUPERVISOR LEARNING WITHIN THE MACHINE LEARNING LAYER.
SO BASICALLY IT'S RELATED TO NEURAL NETWORK.
SO THAT'S THE HOTTEST TOPIC OF AI.
WE HAVE TO EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHAT'S THE AI AND WHAT IS MACHINE LEARNING WITH DEEP LEARNING? SECOND, THERE IS NO GENERAL AI AVAILABLE AS FAR AS FAR AS I KNOW ON THE MARKET.
SO BASICALLY WE HAVE, WE HAVE A TRAFFIC CAMERA, WE HAVE A AI DESIGNED TO DO SPECIFIC ASSIST, BUT IF YOU'RE WANTING TO SAY, CAN WE GET AI TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT? THERE'S NOT SUCH THING THIS, AND THAT'S THE BEST DEGREE.
WE ARE NOT LI LIKE A GOOGLE AND THE BIG COMPANY WORKING ON THAT.
I AGREE, LIKE THE SITUATION, IF WE WANT TO BUY A TRAFFIC CAMERA, THAT'S A TRAFFIC CAMERA CATEGORY.
IF WE WILL BUY A STOCK CERTAIN CATEGORY, WE'VE GOT A CERTAINLY CATEGORY, BUT ANYWAY, THERE'S NO GENERAL PLATFORM AVAILABLE YET.
BUT TED, DID YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT TED THAT MR. LARRY, UM, I DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO ADD.
I'LL JUST SAY THIS HERE'S AN EXAMPLE.
AS A PROBLEM, SITS WITH THE JUNK, THEN LIVE A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE.
WE HAD A AI CHAT BOT BEING SOLD TO US FOR HEALTHCARE PURPOSES IN THE LAST SPRING.
AND WE ASKED, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS IT TRAINED ON? AND THE IDEA WAS, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE, UH, HEALTHCARE SUPPORT FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
AND IT WAS TRAINED ON TECHNICAL IT SUPPORT CALLS.
SO THE DATA'S THAT WAS TECHNICAL, IT SUPPORT CALLS, AND WE WERE PURCHASING IT TO SUPPORT HEALTH CARE OR SUPPORT CALLS.
UM, IS THAT A, IS THAT A, IS THAT A GOOD PURCHASE? IS THAT, IS, IS THAT GOING TO CAUSE US SOME CERTAINLY NOT OUTCOME GOALS? I'M NOT SURE EQUITY.
UM, AND THEN YOU, YOU, YOU ASK ABOUT, UM, HOW TO CUSTOMIZE SUCH A THING FOR HEALTHCARE PURPOSES AND THE VENDOR.
CLEARLY DOESN'T AT LEAST AS THEY PRESENT US, CLEARLY UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO AS WELL.
THEY HAVE SOME CANNED ANSWERS.
SO WHAT, UM, I GUESS THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
THERE IS NO STANDARD OUT THERE.
THERE'S A LOT OF SALES PITCH TO CHARLES'S POINT.
WE GET A LOT OF FOLKS TELLING US THAT CAN DO THIS OR THAT.
AND WE DON'T HAVE, AND I DON'T THINK THERE IS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD.
I MEAN, HIGH TRIPLE E'S BEGINNING SOMETHING THAT THERE'S NOT, I'M NOT IN A BUNCH OF STAMPS THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THEM.
UH, DID YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS YOU SAID THAT YOU WANTED TO ASK? RIGHT.
WELL, RELATED TO THAT FIRST QUESTION WAS, IS I UNDERSTAND, BUT HE MAY WAGE AND I GO, I GOT VERY GENERAL KNOWLEDGE IS THAT IT TAKES ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF DATA AND THEN USES LIKE NEURAL NETWORKS TO DISCERN PATTERNS.
UM, SO IS THAT THE WAY IT'S BEING USED BY THESE VARIOUS PROJECTS FOR THE CITY? OR IS THERE SOME MORE SOPHISTICATED KIND OF ANALYSIS GOING ON? I CAN COMMENT ON THAT AND NOT ALL THE PROJECTS.
NOT ON A PROJECT OR AT LEAST FROM SIDE, I USE A NEURAL NETWORK CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S A, UM, SOME AUTHOR LOTION, MACHINE LEARNING MASTER.
THERE'S A MUCH EASIER TO UNDERSTAND ALSO GENERATE A BETTER RESULT THAN YOU ARE ON ANDROID.
YOU'RE AN ANDROID IS A MORE BLACK BOX.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW SOMETIME WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE PUT ON A, WHY ARE WE GOING TO READ THOUGHTS SO YOU CAN SHOW ME I WAS STILL HERE.
SO I KNOW THEY'RE NOT ALL THERE, UH, PROJECT YOUTH IN YOUR NETWORK IN TERM OF ANALYSIS, MASSIVE.
[01:00:01]
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS METHOD.FIRST LOGICAL READING, AS WE KNOW, HEY, TO BE B2C.
THE SECOND
SO THE LEVEL WE SIT IN, OUR MACHINE LEARNING AND MACHINE LEARNING IS LIKE A LIBRARY.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF, LOT OF MODELS TO MACHINE LEARNING AND NEURAL NANDO.
WE GET A POT OF MACHINE LEARNING, WE CALL DEEPER LEARNING.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
I HOPE THAT HELPS TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION COMMISSIONER.
I WOULD ADD TO IT WITH, UH, WE'RE VERY INTENTIONAL IN, IN SELECTING PROJECTS WHERE WE COULD SEE RESULTS FAIRLY, FAIRLY QUICKLY.
SO WHEN WE, THAT WITH THESE PROJECT TEAMS, WE DIDN'T WANT THEM TO GO DEEP INTO THE NEURAL NETWORK AND FIGURE OUT ALL THE BLACK BOX THINGS.
UH, WE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO SEE RESULTS AND WE WANT TO SEE OUTCOMES IN SIX MONTHS, EIGHT MONTHS.
UM, AND THEN WE KIND OF ITERATE AND GO FROM THERE.
SO, SO, SO THE IDEA WITH THESE, THIS FIRST ROUND OF PROJECTS IS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S KIND OF INTRODUCTORY, ESPECIALLY FIRST PER CITY STAFF.
AND, AND THEN IT GIVES US AN IDEA OF, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO THOSE HOW FAR, HOW FAR WE CAN GET WITH THIS, WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, UH, WITHOUT GETTING US RAPTOR WRAPPED INTO A PROJECT THAT IS ENDLESS AND, AND BECOMES JUST MORE EXPENSIVE.
SO WE TRIED TO KEEP THE FIRST ONE'S FAIRLY, YOU KNOW, FAIRLY SIMPLE AND, AND SCOPED, UM, SCOPED APPROPRIATELY.