Raleigh, North Carolina, is transitioning from isolated experiments to a cohesive technical strategy under CIO Mark Wittenburg. By adopting a 'crawl, walk, run' philosophy, the city ensures that high-impact technologies like artificial intelligence undergo rigorous internal testing before facing the public. This measured approach prioritizes low-risk pilots that add immediate organizational value while building the necessary oversight for more complex deployments.

One of the most significant shifts involves moving beyond simple chatbots to 'agentic AI' systems. While standard bots merely provide information, these 'zero touch agents' are designed to perform tasks autonomously, such as managing IT service queues without human intervention. By synthesizing institutional knowledge across departments, these agents can connect disparate HR and facility processes, offering a streamlined experience that goes far beyond traditional keyword-based responses.

The city is also applying sophisticated visual language models—systems that can 'understand' and describe video content—to its 'Raleigh in Motion' project. This system allows planners to query traffic camera feeds using natural language, asking specific questions about pedestrian patterns or vehicle flow. This data-driven insight, combined with plans for AI-optimized waste collection and digital twin modeling, represents a significant leap in how local governments manage physical infrastructure.

Security and education remain pillars of this digital evolution. Raleigh has implemented zero-trust architecture, a security framework that treats every access request as a potential threat, requiring strict verification. To prepare the workforce, the city launched a curriculum focusing on prompt engineering—the art of crafting precise instructions for AI models—ensuring staff can use these powerful tools safely and effectively.

Raleigh, North Carolina, is transitioning from isolated experiments to a cohesive technical strategy under CIO Mark Wittenburg. By adopting a 'crawl, walk, run' philosophy, the city ensures that high-impact technologies like artificial intelligence undergo rigorous internal testing before facing the public. This measured approach prioritizes low-risk pilots that add immediate organizational value while building the necessary oversight for more complex deployments.

One of the most significant shifts involves moving beyond simple chatbots to 'agentic AI' systems. While standard bots merely provide information, these 'zero touch agents' are designed to perform tasks autonomously, such as managing IT service queues without human intervention. By synthesizing institutional knowledge across departments, these agents can connect disparate HR and facility processes, offering a streamlined experience that goes far beyond traditional keyword-based responses.

The city is also applying sophisticated visual language models—systems that can 'understand' and describe video content—to its 'Raleigh in Motion' project. This system allows planners to query traffic camera feeds using natural language, asking specific questions about pedestrian patterns or vehicle flow. This data-driven insight, combined with plans for AI-optimized waste collection and digital twin modeling, represents a significant leap in how local governments manage physical infrastructure.

Security and education remain pillars of this digital evolution. Raleigh has implemented zero-trust architecture, a security framework that treats every access request as a potential threat, requiring strict verification. To prepare the workforce, the city launched a curriculum focusing on prompt engineering—the art of crafting precise instructions for AI models—ensuring staff can use these powerful tools safely and effectively.