The Urban Frontier of AI

By 2050, 70% of the world will live in cities, and those cities will be powered by the data centers we build today. Far from being isolated in the periphery, 97.5% of US data centers are hidden in plain sight within urban centers, driven primarily by electricity-grid capacity. Drawing on research from the recently launched Urban Institute at NYU Tandon, Professor Maurizio Porfiri demonstrates how we can leverage data science and AI to address these complex urban interdependencies—from climate change and grid stability to the needs of aging populations and economic volatility. This talk reveals how urban science is being used to safeguard grid stability and shape the resilient cities of tomorrow. Speaker Maurizio Porfiri, Director, NYU Urban Institute