San Jose is expanding its language translation options in public meetings by using artificial intelligence. The city launched its partnership with Wordly, an AI-based service that offers live translation in 50 languages. Translation will be available at all San Jose City Council and council committee meetings. City officials say it’s more affordable and efficient than...
Will TikTok leave San Jose if ban takes hold?
The U.S. TikTok ban is raising questions about the app’s future in San Jose, where its Chinese parent company, Bytedance, is expanding its office space. President Joe Biden signed the ban into law on Wednesday, claiming national security risks, which would prohibit the downloading of TikTok from app stores if Bytedance doesn’t sell the app...
San Jose to launch smarter 311 app to handle vehicle complaints
San Jose is updating its 311 app that tracks resident complaints to more efficiently address thousands of requests about abandoned vehicles. The 311 app is designed to be a one-stop shop for residents to report a variety of issues including blight, graffiti and potholes, or request other supportive services. Residents depend on the city to resolve issues pertaining to...
Sunnyvale wants a better mobile app for reporting problems
Sunnyvale is in the market for a better way to have residents flag issues in their neighborhoods online. The Sunnyvale City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously, with Councilmember Omar Din absent, to request bids on a management system residents can use to report potholes, graffiti and other problems. Councilmembers also voted to pause work on...
Sunnyvale taps AI to translate public meetings
Sunnyvale residents who don’t speak English have a new way to engage and participate in city meetings. The city is piloting an artificial intelligence-based translation service upon request for public meetings through Wordly. The technology offers live translation in more than 50 languages. Using AI is more cost effective and efficient than human translators, according...
Santa Clara County expands use of license plate readers
License plate reading cameras are about to become more common along Silicon Valley roadways. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of license plate reading cameras, adding coverage of unincorporated county areas that have not been annexed into neighboring cities. The expansion was approved without funding, which the Santa...
Silicon Valley lawmaker targets AI political misinformation
Before election season heats up, one state lawmaker wants to eliminate potential threats from artificial intelligence spreading misinformation in political advertising. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, who represents District 28, plans to introduce a bill in the coming weeks to ban political advertising materials deceptively altered through AI. District 28 includes Santa Cruz, Los Gatos and parts of San Jose,...
San Jose hosts a futuristic vision of mass transit
The future of transportation arrived in San Jose via a conference centered on automated, sustainable forms of public transit for the region and beyond. The 2023 Podcar City transit innovation conference took place Friday at San Jose City Hall, where about 100 representatives from transit organizations, companies and municipal governments from around the world gathered...
San Jose wants to be the center of the AI boom
San Francisco is the self-proclaimed artificial intelligence capital of the world—but San Jose is looking to clinch that title in the coming years. In an effort to attract the next generation of AI startups to the South Bay, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan wants San Jose to explore creating incentives for AI companies to move or...
San Jose officials to crack down on social media rules
After a myriad of messy transitions including former San Jose officials impersonating their successors, holding social media accounts hostage and preventing access to mailing lists, the city is looking to create rules to ensure it doesn’t happen in the next election. District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan wants council-related websites and social media accounts to be...