Public Sector AI Applications in Shanghai

This chapter refines and validates the findings on Shanghai’s policy capacity that were derived from the analysis of the municipal AI policy environment and AI ecosystem. Based on the information gathered from interviews with key stakeholders of Shanghai’s AI policy, the chapter offers a precise account of what Shanghai is doing to foster public sector AI applications in practice. In doing so, it brings into focus the key features of Shanghai’s strategy for AI in the public sector. To understand how policy capacity enables the implementation of this strategy, the chapter then examines the analytical, operational, and political capabilities that determine strengths and limitations in deploying AI in the public sector of the main municipal policy initiatives in this area. Namely: the Government Online-Offline Shanghai, the Single Platform for Urban Management, and the AI pilot application scenarios, the case studies of this book. The chapter combines information gathered from interviews and documentary research to provide a detailed analysis of these policy initiatives and their implications for public service provision in Shanghai.