This 'Smart City' in China Is Controlled By An Artificial Intelligence

The idea of smart cities – infrastructure interlinked by software – isn't new, but it's undeniably cool. Who wouldn't want to live somewhere where programs use data and evidence, not intuition, to actively improve their day-to-day lives? Now imagine that an entire smart city actually exists, but it's even more advanced than you could possibly imagine, where infrastructural systems are altered on the fly by an artificial intelligence (AI). This may sound futuristic, but one such place can already be found in China. As reported back in October 2016, the government of the city of Hangzhou – home to over 9 million people – collaborated with Alibaba and Foxconn to build the "City Brain" project.