AI is everywhere, but can it really fix the city of Montreal?
From speeding up city permits to maximizing urban planning, municipal leaders in Montreal are venturing heavily into artificial intelligence to solve local issues. However, tech critic Paris Marx points out that, “AI is often sold as a solution, but it doesn’t address the human or social problems already in place,” emphasizing that technology alone will not be able to fix systemic issues like understaffed public services, bureaucratic inefficiencies, or social inequality.
In this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa sits down with guest Paris Marx to discuss the hype and interest surrounding Montreal’s AI boom, and its title as a tech hub.
Together, Marx and Dhatsenpa examine the limitations of AI, the real world consequences of its implementation in municipal services, all the way to the manners it can reinforce existing disparities and inequalities instead of solving them.
From discussing algorithmic bias in public service tools, to the broader sociopolitical implications of relying on technology to manage the city, Marx and Dhatsenpa’s talk Montreal AI ambitions.
