Session Highlight: Growing into AI at the Nation’s 5th Largest City

Artificial intelligence is changing how cities serve their residents, but scaling it responsibly requires more than just adopting new technology. Instead, it demands thoughtful governance, cross-department collaboration, and a commitment to public trust. At GovAI Summit, the session Growing into AI at the Nation’s 5th Largest City offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the City of Phoenix, which is the fifth largest city in the United States, is building a sustainable and human-centered AI governance program that others can learn from.

Phoenix’s journey began with a simple but profound question: how can a large, fast-growing city embrace AI innovation without compromising security, privacy, or equity? The answer emerged through deliberate experimentation, inclusive policy design, and an ongoing effort to align AI in government with the city’s broader mission to serve residents responsibly. Successful governance isn’t just about rules and compliance; rather, it’s about creating frameworks that evolve alongside technology and the people who use it.

Phoenix’s governance journey started by embedding privacy and security safeguards directly into its procurement processes. Rather than treating AI as a standalone innovation, city leaders integrated governance into everyday operations, ensuring that every vendor relationship, tool, and dataset met ethical and legal standards. This operational approach reflects many of the insights shared in From White House to Workflows: Making Policy Practical, where agencies learned how to turn high-level policy ideas into practical, measurable action.

A crucial part of Phoenix’s success has been its focus on people. Early in the rollout, employees expressed curiosity and concern about how AI would affect their jobs. Rather than ignore those feelings, the city responded with AI training programs tailored for different audiences, from department heads to front-line staff. The training combined governance principles with hands-on demonstrations, demystifying AI tools while emphasizing responsible use. These sessions quickly generated strong demand for customized follow-ups, proving that investing in people is as important as investing in technology. That philosophy echoes themes from Building Government AI Talent, where experts stressed that the future of AI in the public sector depends on empowering the workforce, not replacing it.

Phoenix’s human-centered approach to AI governance also underscores the importance of trust and transparency. As outlined in Trust and Transparency in Government AI Systems, maintaining public confidence requires open communication about how and why AI is being used. By prioritizing privacy safeguards, ethical procurement, and employee readiness, Phoenix has set an example for how large cities can embrace innovation without losing sight of accountability.

The city’s experience also demonstrates that AI policy isn’t static: it grows with practice. Over time, Phoenix refined its frameworks based on lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and evolving standards. This iterative mindset reflects the adaptive governance models highlighted in Innovation in Practice: What Agencies Are Trying, where experimentation and transparency were shown to be essential to building public trust in emerging technologies.

In many ways, Phoenix’s story captures the broader theme of GovAI Summit: that the path to responsible AI isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it always begins with leadership willing to learn, adjust, and invest in people. By embedding governance across every stage from procurement to training to community engagement, Phoenix has positioned itself as a model for large municipalities growing into AI thoughtfully and sustainably.

If you’re looking to design or refine your own AI governance framework, join us at GovAI Summit. You’ll hear directly from the public sector innovators leading this transformation and leave with actionable strategies for operationalizing AI responsibly, protecting public trust, and shaping a future where technology works for everyone.

Explore the full agenda and register today at govaisummit.com.