UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to aid cities in an effort for its residents to live in a more sustainable way. This topic will be examined during the next Nittany AI Inspire virtual event “Smart Cities, AI and the Greater Good” from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. Nittany AI Inspire is a program facilitated by the Nittany AI Alliance, a Penn State Outreach service.
Doug Guthrie, senior vice president of Comcast Cable, will be the opening presenter for the event and will discuss Comcast’s vision for a smart city.
“At Comcast, our smart cities focus is to build communities that are connected, secure and sustainable,” Guthrie said. “We are very excited to be a part of the Nittany AI Alliance Inspire event and to join the cohort of innovators that will design AI solutions to meet the challenges facing smart cities of tomorrow.”
Guthrie will join a panel discussion about smart cities that will be moderated by Kristin Musulin, senior editor for Smart Cities Dive, Industry Dive. Other panelists include:
—Emily Yates, smart city director for the city of Philadelphia.
—Jack Carroll, distinguished professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State.
—Javad Khazaei, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Penn State Harrisburg.
After the panel discussion, Penn State students involved in the Nittany AI Associates program will discuss the project they worked on with the city of Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA). The students used AI to help predict how COVID-19 will affect the number of people who telework and the impact that will make on the future of public transportation in Philadelphia.
The event will conclude with an ideation session.
Nittany AI Inspire: “Smart Cities, AI and the Greater Good” is open to Penn State students, faculty, staff and others interested in learning more about the use of AI for sustainability and the Nittany AI Challenge. Visit the Nittany AI Alliance website to register for the event.
Other upcoming Nittany AI Inspire events include “Nonprofits, AI and the Greater Good” on Nov. 13 and “Global Education, AI and the Greater Good” on Jan. 22, 2021.