Cities around the world are making big changes to prepare for artificial intelligence and the infrastructure it needs. One of the most significant moves happened when Portland, Oregon joined an international group of major cities committed to sustainable AI development. Cities like Paris, France, Phoenix, Arizona, and Melbourne, Australia signed an agreement that promises to guide AI growth while protecting the environment. This agreement was announced at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to Portland's Mayor Keith Wilson, "AI reshapes industries and communities," and cities must make sure "its growth does not come at the expense of our environment." The agreement commits these cities to work together on setting environmental and social standards, using planning tools to be more transparent, and having open conversations between government, companies, and regular people.

In the United States, government leaders are actively working to understand and guide how AI will change their communities. A major conference called City Summit 2025 happened in Salt Lake City, Utah in November, where more than 3,000 local leaders gathered to discuss AI and how it affects their cities. Speakers talked about how AI is not actually new - IT professionals have been using machine learning for many years. What is new is generative AI, which is the type that can write essays, create pictures, and answer questions. City leaders emphasized that AI gives them opportunities to do more work and make better decisions with data, rather than taking away jobs. Tennessee took another important step by releasing its first-ever AI action plan. Co-chair Jim Bryson explained that "Tennessee's values of integrity, transparency, and fiscal responsibility make innovation possible without compromising public trust." The plan organizes AI work into four main pillars: launching test AI projects that show real improvements in government services, building secure technology to support AI while protecting sensitive information, training government workers to understand and use AI effectively, and creating clear rules and oversight so AI expands responsibly.

One of the biggest infrastructure changes happening involves data centers - enormous buildings filled with powerful computers that process information for AI and internet services. These data centers are spreading rapidly across the United States, especially in the West. Texas-based New Era Energy & Digital announced plans to build a giant data center in New Mexico that would need its own nuclear and natural gas power plants producing about 7 gigawatts of electricity - enough to power about 5.3 million homes. The scale of these developments is unprecedented. In California, data centers pulled 10.82 terawatt-hours of electricity from the power grid in 2023, creating about 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions. These same centers used about 13.2 billion gallons of water for cooling and electricity generation. In Arizona, utilities warned that new data centers being built around Phoenix could increase the state's total power needs by 300 percent. Similar challenges are appearing in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Nevada, where utilities are struggling to add enough power generation to meet data center demands. Colorado plans to spend about $22 billion over the next 15 years just to handle data center power needs, which could double or triple electric bills for regular customers.

New York City is taking a more direct approach to testing AI technology through smart city projects. City officials announced new pilot programs where AI and sensors work together to help improve city services. These projects include creating 3D computer models of buildings and neighborhoods to help with city planning and management. The initiative helps city government work with private technology companies to test new tools and approaches. Through these smart city pilots, NYC aims to understand how AI and sensors can make services better for residents while also learning about potential problems before rolling out technology citywide. These developments show that cities worldwide are not waiting passively for AI to happen - they are actively working to shape how this powerful technology is used in urban planning and city management.