Built for SF by SF: AI Solutions Helping Our City Thrive

Quick Overview

The presentation showcases how AI, specifically models like GPT-5 Nano and Sora, is being integrated into San Francisco's municipal operations through the "Solve SF" initiative and the City Science Lab to streamline issue reporting, improve resource allocation for homelessness and public safety, and visualize urban planning scenarios, ultimately aiming to make the city safer, cleaner, and more vibrant.

Key Points: Solve SF, an AI solution built by SF residents, allows users to report issues like graffiti or trash via photos, with GPT-5 analyzing the image and automatically pre-filling 311 forms. The analysis reduces the reporting process from potentially 12 steps down to just two clicks, significantly speeding up response times for issues like homelessness and public safety concerns. The City Science Lab uses AI models (including GPT-5, Whisper, and text-embedding-3-large) to simulate future urban development scenarios, such as housing projects, to better understand impact. The City Science Lab data platform centralizes information from nine disparate city departments (like Public Health, Fire, DEM, Homeless Services) into one searchable dashboard. The City Science Lab demonstrated using AI to generate visualizations of proposed housing developments in different architectural styles (Modern, Victorian, Contemporary) based on user input. The overall goal is to leverage AI to help San Francisco address complex challenges like homelessness and public safety by providing data-driven insights and efficient response tools.

Context: This segment from the OpenAI DevDay [2025] features presentations from key stakeholders involved in leveraging AI for municipal improvements in San Francisco. Cory Decker (OpenAI Global Head of Events) introduces the session, followed by Mayor Daniel Lurie discussing the city's commitment to innovation. The core of the presentation involves Patrick McCabe (Founder of Solve SF) demonstrating an AI-powered issue reporting app, and Kate Connolly and Peter Hirschberg (Co-founders of City Science Lab SF) showcasing how they use AI to model urban development and resource allocation across various city departments.