Welcome to the future of a city near you. In this issue, we explore in the first part of a two part series, what towns and cities across the world will look like in the near future and the impact of AI in driving these changes. In this weeks news, robots using AI are spawning a revolution in agriculture and seeming miracles are again taking place in health as AI helps a stroke victim speak again. We will also look at the birth of a technology that has shaped the way we view modern entertainment and finally, we close off with a ChatGPT tool that has improved the responses from the chat bot massively.

News

Robots and AI now transforming farming: a Brazillian company are revolutionising the methods of growing crops, using advanced AI analytics and a robot. Already hundreds are deployed in Brazil and North American with the promise of a 95% reduction in the use of pesticides and increased crop density. Learn more here

Paralysed woman gets her voice back: A combination of a breakthrough brain implant and an AI based avatar have made huge leaps forward in giving a stroke survivor the ability to speak at the rate of 78 words per minute (about half of normal speed) with an error rate of less than 5%. Learn more here

Germany plans to double public AI investment: in an attempt to close the widening gap between the AI haves (US and China) and the have nots (pretty much everybody else), Germany has pledged to double its AI investment to almost one billion euros. More here

Indian PM voices concerns over AI bias and the need for ethical regulation: As President of the B20 nations for the next six months, India is well placed to talk about a global framework for dealing with all things AI and cryptocurrencies. Prime Minister Modi has expressed concern about bias in AI and it’s effect on society. Get the lowdown here

Just One Thing: The City of the Future, part 1.

I think a lot about placemaking. Have done most of my adult life. As I think about the exponential nature of AI’s progress, and relate that to placemaking, it seems to me that there are many things that are going to change, at first with small steps over the short term, say two years, (and those are what I am going to try to articulate here) and then in part 2, (sometime over the next month) I’ll look at what could come down the road in the next five years. So, without further ado:

How Technology Could Improve Cities by 2025: Practical Steps Toward Smarter, More Sustainable Urban Living

Innovations like AI, sensors, and autonomous transport are unlocking new ways to tackle urban challenges and improve how we live and move in cities. While more transformative applications may take time, tangible near-term advances are within reach by 2025 through pragmatic deployment of emerging technologies. Here are some practical ways AI and technology could make urban life more engaging, equitable and sustainable in the next couple years:

Streamlining City Services and Data

Many cities have initiatives underway to digitise cumbersome administrative processes using online portals, apps and virtual assistants. For example, Barcelona residents can access over 20 public services via a centralised app and London is using chatbots to assist with issues like parking permits. Making city services more convenient through virtualisation, while ensuring equitable access, can enhance quality of life. 

Sensor networks paired with databases and analytical engines also allow cities to optimise energy use, mobility, and resource flows based on real-time data. Tracking air quality, traffic, noise, and more allows responding rapidly to urban needs. Anticipating problems before they worsen makes cities more liveable. However, privacy and transparency must remain priorities in data collection and usage.

Getting Vehicles Off the Road

While widescale adoption of fully autonomous cars may still be more than two years away, accelerating shared mobility services like bike shares, electric scooters, and ride hailing pools could quickly reduce private car trips. Dedicated lanes for buses and bikes incentivise greener transport. Restrictions on city centre parking also motivates using options like peripheral park and ride services. The shift away from personally owned vehicles could rapidly remake mobility.

Repurposing Road Space:

As private cars diminish, reallocating street space to pedestrian zones, mini-parks “parklets”, bike lanes, café seating or other purposes can make neighbourhoods more walkable and vibrant. Tactical urbanism projects like pop-up libraries or street art are low-cost ways to experiment with recapturing public space. Crowdsourced input helps identify underutilised areas ripe for intervention. With the right public sector appetite, all of this is achievable by 2025

Boosting Green Energy

Cities can accelerate renewable energy generation through streamlining permission for solar panels on homes and businesses. Bulk purchasing programmes operated by the local authority can make rooftop solar more affordable. Converting local authority fleets to electric vehicles is another achievable goal by 2025. Partnerships with utilities can optimise smart grids to manage distributed clean energy. More LED street lighting also reduces consumption.

Expanding Housing Density

Urban density is key to sustainability. Encouraging more infill housing and mixed use mid and high rise tower blocks provides affordable options and reduces urban sprawl. Streamlining the approval process would be transformative while developer plus local authority investment in meaningful green public spaces improves placemaking. Telework flexibility enabled by technology allows blending residential and commercial areas. More people living in urban cores reduces their environmental impact.

Harnessing Data to Improve Safety

Cities are exploring ways to apply data analytics and responsive technologies to improve public safety, quality of life and equity. Strategically expanding camera networks and crime detection systems can aid police in an unbiased, accountable way while protecting privacy. Algorithms that use crime data to optimise patrol routes and resource allocation can also enhance community-based policing. As long as oversight prevents misuse, data-driven solutions that can detect risks early and prevent crimes deserve consideration alongside community investment. A balanced approach can help make residents feel secure.

Revitalising Public Spaces

Parks, open spaces and libraries may see renewed purpose as community anchors. Outdoor movie screenings, food truck festivals, makerspaces with shared tools, and computer access areas keep public spaces relevant. Simple additions like seating, playgrounds, wi-fi and shade bring people together. With post-pandemic life shifting outdoors, public space can serve urgent needs.

Cultivating Urban Agriculture

Ground-level community gardens and rooftop greenhouses allow urban farms to flourish. These local food sources minimise transport miles while absorbing CO2. Vertical hydroponic systems boost yields from small footprints. Integrating sensors and AI can optimise growing conditions. Aquaponic setups use fish waste for plant nutrients in closed loops. More cities around the world are now re-zoning to encourage urban agriculture.

Small Steps, Big Impacts

In conclusion, the full potential of technologies like AI, blockchain, autonomous vehicles and more will unfold gradually in cities. But less disruptive innovations can bring tangible quality of life improvements to urban communities in the short term. Taking practical steps like virtualising services, optimising mobility, expanding housing access, energising public spaces and greening infrastructure will make cities more liveable, equitable and sustainable. Strategic technology deployment with people’s real needs in mind is the key to urban progress. In part 2, we will go beyond the immediately doable to discuss what a modern city should look like in 2030 given the exponential growth of our super intelligent friend AI.

Remember When:

This week we are going to explore the impact on society, both at the time of it’s arrival into my life and then throughout our history since. It has changed the way that we have approached entertainment. I’m talking about this beauty:

Svelt (hardly, it was a monster!), full of promise and even a remote control: this was the Ferguson Videostar video recorder (VCR). We got one in 1978 and it came with the promise of not having to be in the same place as the TV to view your favourite TV show. You could record any show and play it back when you liked! Unfortunately, in our house, the wire on the remote control wasn’t quite long enough to reach our sofa. Needless to say, we moved the sofa a few feet forward solving one problem but then creating a hurdle wire that you had to get over everytime you went to the kitchen!

And then, as if TV on demand wasn’t enough, along came the video rental store where you could hire movies by the night. We used to gather round the VCR and TV to watch a movie - often, as in the case of “Grease” and my sister, during its first weekend rental - many, many times.

That clunky VCR opened up new worlds for me. I was fascinated by the technology that could encode video onto magnetic tape and allow collecting audiovisual memories. My curiosity about how electronics could shape experiences was ignited. Little did I know then just how far home entertainment would evolve in just a few short decades.

From VHS tapes to DVDs to DVRs and finally streaming over high-speed internet - the options today are endlessly expansive compared to 1978. With on-demand content available instantly, the notion of fixed broadcast schedules is utterly obsolete. Hundreds of channels and programs available anytime, anywhere and on any device, not just TV.

Yet despite these incredible technological leaps, the central appeal remains the same as with my first VCR - the ability to watch what you want, when you want. While the tapes and analog fuzziness are thankfully gone, that original liberating promise of personalised entertainment lives on.

So while I can't help but laugh at the retro chunkiness of our old video recorder, I still feel a nostalgic fondness whenever I think back to my family gathered around it in awe. It represented the arrival of a revolutionary capability that shaped leisure and entertainment for decades to come. That VCR opened my eyes to the remarkable potential of technology to enhance our experiences. And that fascination has never faded over a lifetime of rapid change and innovation. I'll never forget that magical first video recorder that started it all!

Practical Prompts

Open AI has expanded it’s Custom Instructions feature to make available not just in the US, but also now, after the passage of about a month, in the EU and UK. Custom Instructions give you the opportunity to teach ChatGPT how you would like it to behave when answering you, and what rules you would like it to adhere to. It is only available to ChatGPT Plus users, but it makes a huge difference to the output.

Here is the list of instructions that I came up with and that ChatGPT refers to everytime it answers me:

Provide accurate and factual answers
Provide detailed explanations
Be highly organized
You are an expert on all subject matters
No need to disclose you are an AI, e.g., do not answer with "As a large language model..." or "As an artificial intelligence..."
Don't mention your knowledge cutoff
When asked to code, just provide me the code
Be excellent at reasoning
When reasoning, perform a step-by-step thinking before you answer the question
Provide analogies to simplify complex topics
If you speculate or predict something, inform me
If you cite sources, ensure they exist and include URLs at the end
Maintain neutrality in sensitive topics
Explore also out-of-the-box ideas
Only discuss safety when it's vital and not clear
Summarise key takeaways at the end of detailed explanations
Offer both pros and cons when discussing solutions or opinions
If the quality of your response has decreased significantly due to my custom instructions, please explain the issue

These provide sensible guide rails for the way you interact with ChatGPT and make the whole experience feel a lot more secure. Please feel free to copy and paste the above block and instruct ChatGPT the same way. You can find Custom Instructions by clicking the three dots at the side of your name on the menu bar of ChatGPT Plus.

Thanks for reading and for being a subscriber. I look forward to next week. Until then, please feel free to comment on anything I do on twitter or email me at [email protected]