Project PLATEAU, led by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, aims to develop and expand access to 3D models representing the diversity of cities across the country, enhancing urban resilience and addressing local challenges.
Smart TVs are capable of tracking user data, including viewing habits and app usage, which can lead to personalized advertising and content recommendations. Users may prefer to limit this tracking to protect their privacy.
Waymo and Waze announced a data-sharing pilot program that will funnel pothole data collected by robotaxis to a free Waze platform designed for cities. Any city or state, where Waymo operates, will be able to access that data as the program expands.
On February 28, ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz started appearing on tracking screens in places they couldn't possibly be. They appeared to be sitting on airport runways, parked on Iranian land, and clustered at nuclear power plants. More than 1,100 commercial vessels had their navigation systems scrambled in a single day following US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, bringing a waterway that handles a fifth of the world's oil exports to a halt.
Users can now choose to share their device location so ChatGPT can provide more relevant information, such as local recommendations, news, and weather. Sharing your device location is completely optional and off until you choose to enable it.
Between the lines: This isn't benevolence. It's customer acquisition. Mayors don't just buy "AI." They buy cloud, data modernization, cybersecurity, services, and long-term support - the tech stack underneath any serious deployment. In return, cities get tools that could fix long-standing challenges, Cris Turner, vice president of government affairs at Google told Axios last June when it first released its playbook.
AI, like Google Maps, provides the "prediction" of the best route, but the "judgement" of the destination remains with the driver (Author x Gemini) Yet when it comes to using AI for decisions, I see people paralysed by exactly these fears. This ranges from choosing what to study to planning a career move to even planning an article. "Is this cheating?" "Will I lose my critical thinking skills?" or "Am I even thinking for myself anymore?"
Since the start of 2025, at least 30 cities have canceled their contracts with Flock Safety, the AI surveillance company whose CEO wants to end all crime within the decade by blanketing the country in ever-watchful security cameras. That startling figure comes courtesy of NPR, which reports that concerned activists are putting mounting pressure on cities to cut ties with the company. "We are seeing a lot more momentum," Will Freeman, a Colorado-based organizer who runs the website DeFlock.org, told the broadcaster.