Being caught in site visitors is a well-known drawback for a lot of Californians, however state officers wish to harness the facility of synthetic intelligence to find new options.
The California Division of Transportation, teaming up with different state businesses, is asking expertise corporations by Jan. 25 to suggest generative AI instruments that might assist California scale back site visitors and make roads safer, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders. Generative AI instruments equivalent to ChatGPT can shortly produce textual content, pictures and different content material, however the expertise may assist employees brainstorm concepts.
The request reveals how California is attempting to faucet into AI to enhance authorities companies at a time when lawmakers search to safeguard towards the expertise’s potential dangers. As Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Google and different tech giants roll out new AI-powered instruments, the expertise’s fast tempo of development has raised considerations about misinformation, job displacement, copyright infringement and privateness.
The state’s plan to probably use synthetic intelligence to assist alleviate site visitors jams stems from an government order that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September about generative AI. As a part of the order, the state additionally launched a report outlining the advantages and dangers of utilizing AI in state authorities.
California state businesses have entry to a trove of worthwhile information, together with from 1000’s of site visitors sensors and cameras. Analyzing that information to shortly scale back site visitors and enhance security will be difficult. The massive quantity of knowledge is available in varied kinds, equivalent to photographs, movies and textual content.
The state at the moment makes use of expertise to assist analyze site visitors information, however the businesses rely closely on employees to resolve what to do to enhance the move of site visitors in actual time. Generative AI may provide you with higher options.
“It most likely would change the technique a lot, a lot sooner than a human being will be capable to do,” stated Amy Tong, secretary of presidency operations for California.
There are numerous explanation why site visitors jams occur, together with crashes, particles within the roadway, main occasions that draw large crowds and dangerous climate. However there are additionally recurring points that may make roads extra congested, stated California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin.
For instance, a slender a part of a street may hinder the move of site visitors. Staff may use generative AI to brainstorm options.
“There’s potential for generative AI to really assist us higher funnel site visitors by these areas, as an alternative of robotically considering ‘Oh, let’s simply widen the street. That’s the answer,’” he stated.
Caltrans additionally desires to make use of generative AI to assist obtain its imaginative and prescient of getting zero street fatalities and critical accidents by 2050. By evaluation of crash websites, lighting circumstances, site visitors patterns and habits of “susceptible roadway customers” equivalent to pedestrians and cyclists, Caltrans says AI may assist employees establish areas which are at increased threat for accidents and recommend security measures.
“This proactive method will allow transportation system operators and engineers to anticipate and handle issues of safety prematurely or extra shortly, slightly than merely reacting to them after the very fact,” a doc outlining the issue Caltrans is attempting to unravel states.
As expertise turns into extra included in state authorities work, Omishakin stated he anticipates jobs will change however not be fully changed.
Corporations are already utilizing AI to investigate site visitors patterns and the motion of individuals on the roads, together with drivers and bicyclists. Google, for instance, has a analysis initiative generally known as Undertaking Inexperienced Mild that cities equivalent to Seattle are collaborating in that goals to enhance the move of site visitors and scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions from automobiles on the street. As a part of the challenge, Google makes use of AI to establish when engineers can regulate the timing of site visitors lights and supplies these suggestions to metropolis officers.
INRIX, a transportation analytics firm, introduced a brand new generative AI-powered product in November that might assist cities higher handle the move of site visitors. A report by the corporate discovered that Los Angeles in 2022 was the Sixth-most congested metropolis in the US with delays costing drivers, on common, 95 misplaced hours and $1,601.
Know-how additionally isn’t good and people should be within the combine to make sure that the AI system is utilizing information from the proper sources and never spewing out errors, Tong stated. The state can also be taking steps to restrict potential information safety and privateness points. State information that distributors use within the AI methods should be saved inside Caltrans’ “managed cloud environments,” in accordance with a doc in regards to the state proposal.
The state’s request for revolutionary concepts includes varied steps that embody the state evaluating the options the businesses recommend. California, which faces a report $68-billion funds deficit, might then award a contract to corporations. Different state businesses are additionally planning to ask companies to supply concepts to assist enhance different state companies, together with name facilities that assist taxpayers, Tong stated.
“We undoubtedly have the funds constraint in thoughts, however on the similar time, public security is a excessive precedence for the administration,” Tong stated. “In order that’s why we proceed to discover these choices.”