Kansas City will start using AI to improve 311 services
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KCMO City Hall. Illustration: Axios Visuals
Kansas City is one of 15 cities joining the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance — a program that integrates artificial intelligence into city governments — the organization announced Thursday.
Why it matters: The city will use AI to speed up and better run its 311 service, a hotline and app that helps city staff respond to non-emergency problems, answer questions and provide services like fixing potholes and removing snow.
Zoom in: KC will use AI to route residents' requests and categorize inquiries to make responses faster, Carrie Bishop, who leads data and AI initiatives for the government innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, tells Axios.
- The city will also use it to expand multi-language services to reach more residents, she says, pointing to San Jose, California, as an example.
The big picture: The City Data Alliance helps local governments "lead in the age of AI," according to James Anderson, government innovation lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
- The organization will provide tools, training and technical support to help city staff integrate the new technology.
Case in point: Seattle partnered with the City Data Alliance to pilot and scale a program to clean up graffiti downtown and conduct welfare checks.
- Bloomberg Philanthropies also says Baltimore used data tools to reduce homicides, and Tampa used them to finish cleaning hurricane debris three weeks ahead of schedule.
Between the lines: KCMO leaders hope the increased use of technology will address disparities in service delivery across neighborhoods.
- Mayor Quinton Lucas tells Axios 311 is underused in some areas of town, and response times could be improved in historically underserved areas.
- "It's about, 'How do we make sure every Kansas Citian has a working fire hydrant in their neighborhood?'" he says.
- He says the ultimate goal is integrating the tech into every public-facing department, including water, parks, public works and planning.
Yes, but: AI has been known to make things up and generate biased or discriminatory responses.
- "We know that the technology needs to be given careful guardrails, and involve humans in the loop," Bishop tells us. She says the City Data Alliance provides the ability to responsibly try out the tools and make sure they work correctly before scaling them.
What's next: Bloomberg representatives began meeting with city staff this month. Tech integration will be ongoing through May 2026.
Go deeper: Port KC approves $10B data hub funding