Public services will be supported by artificial intelligence

Speaking at the Workshop on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Public Services, Prof. Dr. Koray Velibeyoğlu, President of Izmir Planning Agency, emphasised that an artificial intelligence strategy document will be prepared for local governments for the first time. 

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, which established the Artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities Directorate to utilise artificial intelligence in the projects it will implement, aims to improve the quality of public services. The Directorate of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities, which operates within the body of Izmir Innovation and Technology AŞ, a subsidiary of the metropolitan municipality, will make more use of artificial intelligence in projects that will facilitate the lives of citizens. İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay, who participated in the Workshop on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Public Services held at IzQ Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre for municipal bureaucrats, said: ‘I want corporate success. I want İzmir Metropolitan Municipality to succeed. This will not be Cemil Tugay's success. If we use artificial intelligence in the right way in local government applications, it will be a process that we will all enjoy. I believe in this very much. Establishing the data-based analysis process, making our controls through it, being open to everyone at all stages, sharing the information we have with everyone will make us all successful and happy.’

‘One of the technologies we will utilise is artificial intelligence’
Stating that they aim to improve the services of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and make it a faster and more efficient organisation, Mayor Tugay continued his words as follows: ‘One of the technologies we will utilise while doing this will be artificial intelligence. We are talking about how many tonnes of waste we produce per day. We do not know how much of the 5,500 tonnes of waste should really be accepted as waste. In other words, there is data in almost every field. If we can actually follow that data on a daily basis, if we can make analyses on that data, we can understand why certain things happen, where the problems are concentrated, and what we can do to fix things. Artificial intelligence is a digital technology that can help us in this regard.’ Stressing the importance of using the technology of the age, Mayor Tugay emphasised the need to be open to trying new applications.

‘Artificial intelligence strategy document will be prepared for local governments’
Prof. Dr. Koray Velibeyoğlu, President of Izmir Planning Agency, said that the national artificial intelligence strategy has been published in Turkey, but there is no artificial intelligence strategy document and implementation guide for local governments so far. Velibeyoğlu emphasised that an artificial intelligence strategy document will be prepared for local governments for the first time by supporting Izmir Innovation and Technology Inc. and stated that they will have the opportunity to shape the applications through this strategy document.

‘Izmir has a very strong technology team’
Speaking at the workshop, Emrecan Durmaz, General Manager of Izmir Innovation and Technology Inc. stated that the method of becoming a data-producing city will be discussed at the workshop and said, ‘Izmir now has a very strong technology team that develops new technologies and revives collapsed systems. We will continue to work for the future of Izmir and coding the Izmir of the future.’

‘Data security must be ensured’
Dr Kutluhan Erol, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Computer Engineering, Izmir University of Economics, explained the artificial intelligence applications that can be applied in municipalities. Erol stated that artificial intelligence can be used in decision support systems, urban planning, traffic management, public transport and transport planning, disaster management, automation of municipal operations, audit automation and accelerating communication with citizens. 
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Barış Karcı and Deputy Secretary Generals, municipal bureaucrats and managers attended the workshop. The workshop continued with presentations and workshops.