If you live in Philly and have gotten a ticket in the mail recently, there’s a real chance AI had something to do with it. The city and SEPTA are using camera systems with “AI-vision technology” to spot cars blocking transit lanes and stopping zones. 

That’s the now: AI is already in Philadelphia, and it’s already influencing real-world outcomes for real people.

The next is the part I’m most interested in: What is the city doing to manage AI responsibly? Who decides what’s allowed? What happens when speed and efficiency outpace transparency and trust?

What happens when speed and efficiency outpace transparency and trust?

“Now + Next” is the focus of a new partnership I’m doing with Technical.ly through the Lenfest Institute’s Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange News Creators Network. Stephanie Humphrey and I are teaming up to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping work, governance and daily life in Philadelphia as we prepare to celebrate the US Semiquincentennial.

And AI is already making civic life feel different. 

Philadelphia’s camera-based enforcement is a clean example because it’s visible and personal. Starting this week, it’s expanding to trolleys. Lines T1–T5 and the G1 route will be equipped with automated enforcement cameras. The first 30 days, tickets just come with a warning period. On April 1, fines will start at $51. 

But the bigger story is that AI isn’t only showing up at the “gotcha” moment. It’s also in the background, shaping city operations. Philadelphia has used machine learning to help triage and route 311 information requests to the right departments, according to the city’s chief information officer. 

These tools can absolutely make services run smoother. The problem arises when “smoother” becomes the only goal.

The governance questions we still have to answer

Last fall, Philadelphia City Council held its first major hearing on AI use in city government, where legislators pressed officials on basics like what tools are being used for city work, and what policies exist to manage them. 

City officials said they were working on a framework to guide how public sector employees should use AI. They promised to reveal it by late winter 2025 or early spring 2026, so we should see something any day now — if they keep to the schedule. They also said they’d introduce training (Washington DC just made AI training mandatory for all city workers, by the way) and create an AI governance committee to review future policies. 

This is where “efficiency without rules” becomes a civic risk. When the public can’t see how decisions are being shaped — or can’t challenge them — trust erodes fast.

On the state level, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has positioned Pennsylvania as an early adopter, including a phased pilot of ChatGPT Enterprise and an agreement with InnovateUS (the same company working with DC) to train state employees on responsible use of generative AI. 

Data centers on the rise

And the future isn’t just software. Shapiro has backed initiatives that pave the way for physical infrastructure like data centers, which raise issues around energy used for power, water used for cooling, and land used for development. 

Did you know there’s a data center right in the middle of Philadelphia? 

It’s not a mega-structure like some of the ones being built to power AI, but it’s still big and impressive. It’s run by DataBank, which describes the PHL1 site as an interconnection hub that helps power “our digital world.” It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes facility AI — and pretty much all of our internet use — depends on.

To be clear, this series isn’t about being pro-AI or anti-AI. It’s about who shapes the rules, how transparent the systems are, and whether the next era of Philadelphia is guided by public input and public values.

That conversation is just getting started.

Follow along here and on Instagram at @chelsea.r.cox, @techincal_ly and @techlifesteph.