IIIT-Bengaluru hosts global conference on AI’s role in urban development

BENGALURU: The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) recently hosted a conference titled ‘AI and the City: Understanding Applications in Urban Environments’, focusing on AI’s role in urban planning, governance, and sustainability. The event was organized in collaboration with the School of Cities, University of Toronto, Canada, and the University of Toronto India Foundation (UTIF).
The first-of-its-kind conference in India brought together researchers, technologists, and industry experts from 22 institutions across 11 countries. Discussions centered on AI’s potential in addressing urban mobility, ecological concerns, cybersecurity, and informal-formal divides.

Sachit Rao, Professor at IIIT-B, showcased how AI-based satellite mapping can monitor Bangalore’s water bodies and track flooding patterns, aiding urban planning. Other studies focused on urban heat islands, demonstrating how AI could analyze temperature variations and improve the effectiveness of green spaces.
Cybersecurity expert Roland Hass from IIIT-B highlighted AI’s role in securing smart city infrastructure through Large Language Models (LLMs) that detect vulnerabilities and automate security testing.
Simon Marvin, Professor at the University of Sydney, discussed the increasing "technisation of everything", urging new perspectives on AI’s social impact. Balaji Parthasarathy, Professor at IIIT-B, emphasized the social consequences of AI adoption in urban settings, while Karan Singh from the School of Cities, India, underscored the need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
The conference featured representatives from The Geneva Graduate Institute (Switzerland), Georgia Institute of Technology (US), Royal Holloway University of London, and Singapore Management University, alongside industry players like Continental and start-ups such as Arai Solutions.
Closing the event, Karen Chapple, Director, School of Cities, University of Toronto, announced plans to continue global collaborations to explore AI-driven solutions for high-growth cities like Bangalore.