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Helping Cities Lead in the Evolving Era of Artificial Intelligence | Bloomberg CityLab 2026
Bloomberg Philanthropies is launching the Mayors’ AI Forum to help cities lead in the rapidly evolving era of artificial intelligence.
The founding cohort — Bogotá, Boston, Buenos Aires, Kyiv, London, Madrid, Nairobi, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Tokyo — will work with the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University to explore how AI can strengthen city services and improve policymaking.
“Nobody knows what the future holds, but the better prepared cities are, the better they can seize opportunities or avoid dangers,” said Bloomberg Philanthropies founder Mike Bl...
About Michael Bloomberg
At the 25th anniversary of the Tribeca Festival, Michael Bloomberg reflected on the festival's role in revitalizing Lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. He stated that the "rebirth and revitalization of Lower Manhattan will be remembered as one of the greatest comeback stories in American history" and that "the arts can and must play a pivotal role in strengthening our city's spirit, our economy and our quality of life." At Bloomberg CityLab 2026 in Madrid, Bloomberg announced an additional $350 million commitment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to the Global Road Safety Initiative, with a goal of saving one million lives by 2030. He said that "the more national governments retreat from the world stage, the more important mayors become" and emphasized that "one city's success can spread to other cities and improve lives there, too." Bloomberg also discussed the launch of a Mayors AI Forum supported by the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University and an expansion of global leadership programs in partnership with the London School of Economics and the Hertie School.
Transcript (12 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:00
Bloomberg Philanthropies is launching a new initiative today. It is called the Mayors AI Forum. This network will ensure we're shaping how AI is developed and deployed rather than allowing it to shape us. We know our cities are uniquely equipped to perform the role.
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Michael Bloomberg0:25
There are a lot of complex issues that we'd like to cover today and one of the biggest is artificial intelligence. AI holds so much promise to help municipalities improve the quality of services and access to them, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to let you see what's going on elsewhere. AI also presents many challenges that will be felt at the city level, including challenges and changes to the job market. I think it's fair to say nobody knows what the future holds, but the better prepared cities are, the better they can seize opportunities or avoid dangers.
To help them, Bloomberg Philanthropies is launching a new initiative today. It is called the Mayors AI Forum. And there are 10 founding cities. They are Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Kiev, London, Madrid, Nairobi, San Antonio, San Francisco and Tokyo. These cities are all centers of innovation and commerce. They're all regional economic hubs and they are well positioned to generate new ideas and help them spread. They all have creative mayors who are committed to seizing the opportunities that AI represents, and the mayors also share a commitment to working proactively and with each other to adjust to climate changes and potential challenges. We're glad to be joined by some of them today.
The initiatives that we're about to start will help mayors collaborate and amplify their voices. It will help ensure that private sector companies understand the issues facing cities as they develop AI products, and it'll help governments at all levels understand those issues as they develop AI policies. The Mayors AI Forum will be supported by the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. It will benefit from experts and world-class advisers from across the Bloomberg Philanthropies Network.
And I'm glad to say that one of the people helping to launch this initiative is the mayor of London, my friend Sadiq Khan. And let me tell you, he has been one of the great mayors in the world today. He's done an outstanding job leading the city and he's one of the boldest and most innovative and imaginative mayors in the world. Bloomberg Philanthropies has been glad to work with him on so many issues, from fighting climate change and air pollution to supporting the arts and spurring economic growth.
London, as we all know, was one of the most important centers for tech with a flourishing startup scene including AI. There is an enormous amount of talent and expertise that the mayor and his team can tap into. We're glad to have him with us today. Sadiq, the floor is all yours.
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Sadiq Khan3:56
Well, hello everyone, it's brilliant to join you today. With apologies to our dear friends in Madrid, in a room full of more than a hundred mayors, I'm sure we'll all agree it's great to be here in the second greatest city in the world. There may be less agreement on which is the greatest city in the world, but I'm glad that Mike Bloomberg, the three-time mayor of the third greatest city in the world, introduced me.
But more seriously, can I pay tribute to Mike for his leadership and to Bloomberg Philanthropies for investing in mayors and our capacity to lead, and for bringing mayors together to address the most pressing issues of our time, from adapting to advances in AI to combating the climate crisis. Let's show appreciation to Mike Bloomberg and his team.
It's fantastic to be in Madrid, a city with two of the biggest football teams in the world. After Liverpool, of course — the home of my football team. Like football rivalries, the debate around AI can sometimes be polarizing. On the one hand, you have the AI evangelists who passionately promote the exciting new technology, often without giving sufficient thought to the risks. On the other, you have the AI alarmists who insist it will inevitably lead to humanity's demise. But the truth is, neither uncritical optimism nor fear-driven pessimism will serve us well. It's why I'm approaching and advocating for AI realism. This means being clear-eyed about the potential perils of AI while also being enthusiastic about the amazing possibilities.
In London, we're already using AI to predict congestion, tackle poor housing conditions, speed up cancer diagnosis, aid in the fight against the climate crisis, and much, much more. If AI is developed in a responsible fashion, guided by sound ethical frameworks and shaped by the progressive values of our cities, then undoubtedly we can harness this technology for incalculable good. And that's why this new Mayors AI Forum announced by Mike Bloomberg this morning is so important. This network will ensure we're shaping how AI is developed and deployed rather than allowing it to shape us. We know our cities are uniquely equipped to perform the role. Unlike nation-states that too often dither, we are the doers, the ones willing to confront the critical issues of our day and transform challenges into opportunities.
And London is ready to play our part. It's why today we're also launching a new London AI and Jobs Task Force, which will monitor the impact AI is having on jobs, map out the future of work in our city, and ensure we're seizing the incredible opportunities. We're also offering all Londoners free AI training to help them upskill and make the most of this new technology. We're doing this because I want London and all our cities to lead the world in responsible AI development. We don't want to move fast and break things. We want to move fast and make things without leaving anyone behind.
So let me just end by saying this. Managing a technology with such awesome power will require all of us working together. But if you get this right, the rewards are infinite. Collectively, our cities can rise to this moment, make the age of AI a success, and deliver a better and brighter future for all. Thank you very much.