Los Angeles ramps up AI ahead of the World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics
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Looking west from Dodger Stadium at sunset in October. Photo: Katharine Lotze/Getty Images
It's all hands on deck for LA's AI adoption as the city gears up to host a string of major sporting events.
Why it matters: LA faces a massive logistical challenge as it prepares to host three global sporting events in three years — and it's turning to AI to help the city cope.
- "The way they describe the Olympics is it's something like seven Super Bowls a day for two weeks. So that's what we're up against," LA chief information officer Ted Ross told Axios.
Driving the news: LA and Google Public Sector on Wednesday announced a partnership to use Gemini and other Google Workspace products to power city operations and try to boost employee productivity.
- The city will welcome millions of visitors for the World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028.
Ross said the partnership with Google will help the city meet the moment by:
- Analyzing traffic patterns and helping people avoid jams in and out of stadiums and sports arenas.
- Coordinating law enforcement agencies and analyzing data to prevent potential security issues.
- Creating multilingual press releases, podcasts and videos to quickly share information about events and manage public communications in a city where hundreds of languages spoken.
The city employs more than 45,000 people, with 27,500 being trained on responsible AI usage and data security, according to Ross, who added he's not making it mandatory to adopt the technology.
- "There's a set of people who do not want to use AI. And you know what? I'm not going to force you because it's a personal choice," Ross said.
- "They have tremendous fears and concerns, real or perceived. I need to be very sensitive."
- Ross said he believes that eventually certain types of government workers, such as analysts, will "find themselves ineffective" if they don't embrace the technology.
The bottom line: LA is striving to be a "smart city" by 2028, meaning everything from its airport LAX to public transportation will be highly digitized and connected.
- Adopting the tech could help on issues beyond sporting events, such as for emergency management as the city deals with natural disasters, Ross said.
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