Nine cities have established guidelines for the open usage of AI.

A free to use open-source "data schema" for algorithm registers in cities has been developed by nine cities working together through the Eurocities network. The data schema supports the responsible use of AI and places people at the center of future advancements in digital transformation by establishing standard criteria for the data that must be collected on algorithms and their use by a city.

A press release by EuroCities explains the combined effort of seven European municipalities intends to prevent any future data misuse and establish an interoperable model that can be shared and replicated by other cities, despite the fact that most cities currently only utilize simple algorithms and not advanced AI like face recognition. Based on the example set by Amsterdam and Helsinki, the data schema was created by Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels Capital Area, Eindhoven, Mannheim, Rotterdam, and Sofia.

Artificial intelligence can play a significant role in enhancing public services and assisting in policymaking. But its use raises ethical questions as well," said André Sobczak, secretary general of Eurocities. "These cities' initiatives aim to establish a benchmark for the open and moral use of algorithms, which is still very new in European city administrations. By doing this, they hope to provide protection for people whose data may be exploited by algorithms as well as a proven model that other cities may use right now without expending any further resources. With its Digital Forum lab, Eurocities built on the previous example of Amsterdam and Helsinki to establish the data schema.

More information can be found here.

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