Global AI Cities

Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Global AI Cities brings together leaders from cities and local governments around the world to share unrivalled insights on how artificial intelligence can be harnessed to improve public services and transform how cities plan, operate and serve their communities.

The use of AI by cities is accelerating rapidly. Global AI Cities will support city leaders to develop people-first, place‑based approaches to AI adoption, grounded in real‑world experience, public value, and local priorities. The event will help local authorities share best practice, learn from international peers, and combine expertise to tackle shared challenges.

Through inspiring keynote speeches from global innovators, panel sessions focused on sharing real‑world innovations from around the world and leadership summits that will examine the reality behind making change happen for cities, Global AI Cities provides a unique opportunity for cities to turn ambition into action and deploy AI responsibly, effectively and at scale.

Topics that the event will cover include:

Using AI to create more resilient cities, helping them better anticipate, withstand and respond to increasingly frequent threats – from climate change to cyber-attacks.

Getting AI strategy right to build a vision for AI adoption that is anchored in place, aligned to local priorities, and underpinned by strong governance.

Building trust in AI to enable adoption, by helping boost understanding of the use of AI, both within government and among residents and service users.

Harnessing the power of AI to support local economic growth, using public sector innovation to stimulate business investment, and taking a strategic approach to data centre development.

Using AI to create more responsive local services to help ensure local services meet rising citizen expectations for faster, more adaptive technology-enabled provision.

Making city data useable for AI by providing the underpinning data foundations that systems require.

Creating more secure and sustainable cities using AI to strengthen cyber defences, upskill staff, and build cyber resilience.

Getting AI procurement right to ensure cities have the technology they need at the right time that keeps pace with developments and avoids future legacy problems.

Closing skills gaps to make AI adoption happen by understanding the skills that cities and local governments need to deploy AI.

Sharing what works across different authorities, so cities don’t have to solve the problems of AI alone, but can learn from their peers to make quicker progress.

GLOBAL AI CITIES SUMMIT

16 June 2026

By-invitation only round table discussions

A high-level, strategic forum bringing together senior digital leaders to tackle the real-word challenges of AI adoption in cities. The Summit focuses on setting clear vision and governance, building trust, strengthening resilience, closing skills gaps, and ensuring cities can deploy AI responsibly and effectively at scale.

View the Agenda

GLOBAL AI CITIES CONFERENCE

17 June 2026

Open conference for all public servants

A global conference assembling officials, policymakers, innovators, and partners to explore how best to harness the potential of AI. Through inspiring keynotes, real-world case studies, and engaging panel discussions, the Conference shares practical tools and proven approaches to help deliver more responsible, resilient and responsible cities.

View the Agenda

Shaukat Ali Khan

Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Executive Director, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care System, United Kingdom

Shaukat Ali Khan is the Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Executive Director at the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care System (ICS). He leads the Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) Directorate, supporting millions of residents and more than 100,000 users across a large and complex healthcare network.

Prior to joining the NHS, Shaukat served as Global Chief Information Officer at Aga Khan University, where he oversaw ICT systems for 32,000 users across hospitals, medical centres, and academic institutions in Asia, Africa, and the UK. He also held the CIO role at the University of Central Asia, leading digital transformation across 15 locations in four countries. His earlier career includes senior IT leadership positions at Novo Nordisk HQ and UNICEF HQ in Denmark, managing global infrastructure and operations across more than 80 countries.

With over two decades of global experience across healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals, humanitarian, defence, and hospitality sectors, Shaukat is widely recognised as a technology thought leader. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, is a certified Dynamic Manager and Leader from Harvard Business School, and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS). Shaukat has earned 50+ national and international accolades, including the DXInspire Award and World CIO 200 Legend Award. In September 2025, his profile was featured on the historic New York Times Square billboard as one of the 100 Legacy Makers. In 2023, he received the “Thought Leader’s Excellence Award” from the President of Pakistan and was nominated for the UN Chief Information Technology Officer role. In addition to his executive roles, Shaukat has organised international conferences attended by heads of state and global leaders, and hosted lectures featuring technology pioneers such as Vint Cerf and Toomas Ilves. He is a regular contributor to leading global newspapers and a sought-after commentator on emerging technologies and digital transformation in international media.

Sessions featuring Shaukat Ali Khan:

Fireside chat

Councillor Vasco Anjos

Councillor, Lisbon City Council, Portugal

Born in Lisbon in 1969, holds a degree in Business Management and Administration, granted in 1993 by Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa.

The professional trajectory began in Internal Audit at Banco Espírito Santo in 1994, followed by a transition to Banco Mello de Investimentos. Between 1996 and 2000, the responsibilities included risk monitoring of trading room operations and oversight of associated back-office activities.

In 2000, undertook a 15-year tenure in the golf industry, serving as head of a leisure management company operating within golf courses. This experience led to appointments as Executive Director of the Association of Golf Course Owners (or National Golf Industry Council) from 2004 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015.

In 2007, established a company specializing in the management and maintenance of golf courses. During this period, was involved in numerous projects focused on the design, renovation, and operational and financial control of these developments. A notable achievement was the creation, in 2012, of an online reservation platform for Portuguese golf courses, supported by Turismo de Portugal.

Academic advancement included completion of an MBA at IESE/AESE (2007/2008), as well as participation in international executive programs at the University of Michigan Business School— covering Marketing, Cost Control, and Corporate Strategy—and at the Bangalore Institute of Technology, with a focus on Governance.

Since 2016, has been engaged in management consulting. Significant experience was acquired from 2019 to 2021 at CML (Municipal Directorate of Finance – Procurement Department), including work with public procurement, support for departmental financial management, and organization of management information. Also participated in the decentralization process involving the transfer of educational competencies from the Ministry of Education to the Municipality. A comparable role was held at Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa from 2022 to 2024, and from 2024 until July of 2025, returned to CML (Municipal Directorate of Human Resources, Department of Health, Hygiene, and Safety), contributing to the modernization of financial and organizational processes. This recent experience has notably expanded the knowledge and perspective on municipal administration.

In 2025, joined the lists of the “Por Ti, Lisboa” coalition as a candidate nominated by IL, and was elected Councillor of the Lisbon City Council. The portfolios delegated included Information Systems, Transparency and Corruption, Smart City, Auditing, Sports, Administrative Reform and Modernization, Sustainability and Data Protection

Professor Keeley Crockett

Professor in Computational Intelligence, Chair UKRI AI and Robotics SAT, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Keeley Crockett SMIEEE SFHEA is a Professor in Computational Intelligence at Manchester Metropolitan University She has over 27 years’ experience of research and development in Ethical and responsible AI (for both SME’s and an advocate for citizen voice), computational intelligence algorithms and applications, including adaptive psychological profiling, fuzzy systems, semantic similarity, and dialogue systems. Keeley has led work on Place based practical Artificial Intelligence, facilitating a parliamentary inquiry with Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics (APGDA), leading to the inquiry report “Our Place Our Data: Involving Local People in Data and AI-Based Recovery”. She was a steering committee member for the Policy Connect and UK Parliamentary Inquiry on Skills in the Age of AI launched in June 2025. She is one of the five EPSRC Public Engagement Champions and the PI on the EPSRC “PEAs in Pods: Co-production of community based public engagement for data and AI research.” One of the co-produced outputs from this project is the first People’s Charter for AI co-created with community members across Greater Manchester and Salford. Keeley was one on the Founders of the People Panel for AI, funded originally by The Alan Turing Institute and adopted in 2024 Manchester City Council. She is the academic AI lead for the UKRI funded Centre for Digital Innovation and is working on several Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with private and public sector such as GMCA. Keeley was a collaborator on the AI Playbook for the UK Government and in September 2025 co-chaired the AI in Government and Academia Summit. She is also part of the International Agentic AI Safety Experts Focus Group which includes the development of the Guidelines for Agentic AI Safety Volume 1&2 (2024, 2025). Keeley Chairs (2025-2027) UKRI’s AI & Robotics Strategic Advisory Team. She founded and chaired the IEEE Technical committee SHIELD (2022-2024) and currently Chairs the new IEEE CIS AI Ethics Education and Awareness (AEEA) Taskforce.

Sessions featuring Professor Keeley Crockett:

Boosting citizen, and officer, trust in AI to scale what works

Richard Henderson

Corporate Chief Information Officer, Government of Alberta, Canada

Richard Henderson is Assistant Deputy Minister and Corporate Chief Information Officer for the Government of Alberta, where he leads enterprise technology strategy, digital transformation, and IT operations across one of Canada’s largest and most complex public sector environments. In this role, he is responsible for enabling secure, reliable, and scalable digital services that support government programs and improve service delivery for Albertans.

Prior to joining the Government of Alberta, Richard served as Chief Information Security Officer for Alberta Health Services, overseeing cybersecurity strategy and operations for one of the largest integrated healthcare environments in the world. His leadership experience spans enterprise technology modernization, cybersecurity operations, digital resilience, and large-scale public sector transformation.

Richard is a strong advocate for practical and responsible AI adoption within government. Under Alberta’s leadership, the province is emerging as the national leader in AI enablement across the public service, advancing the use of artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency, support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen cybersecurity capabilities, and enhance citizen services at scale. His work emphasizes the responsible integration of emerging technologies while maintaining public trust, security, and transparency.

A recognized technology leader, Richard frequently speaks on topics including digital government, AI adoption, cyber resilience, and public sector innovation. He is committed to building high-performing teams, fostering cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and helping shape the future of modern public service delivery in Canada.

Sessions featuring Richard Henderson:

AI and the changing face of cybersecurity threats

Building trust in AI to help government deploy it

Global AI Cities

GLOBAL AI CITIES SUMMIT

GLOBAL AI CITIES CONFERENCE

Sessions featuring Councillor Bev Craig OBE:

Sessions featuring Shaukat Ali Khan:

Sessions featuring Thomas Beautyman:

Sessions featuring Christine Bellamy:

Sessions featuring Theo Blackwell:

Sessions featuring Peter Boulton:

Sessions featuring Jonathan Bradley:

Sessions featuring Jill Broom:

Sessions featuring Rafael Carvalho de Fassio:

Sessions featuring Juan Corro:

Sessions featuring Professor Keeley Crockett:

Sessions featuring Mallory Durran:

Sessions featuring Alexandru Georgescu:

Sessions featuring David Gregory:

Sessions featuring Robert Gregory:

Sessions featuring Matt Hennessey:

Sessions featuring Richard Henderson:

Sessions featuring Tom Hindmarch:

Sessions featuring Ane Miren Ibañez Zugazaga:

Sessions featuring Dr Adrian Johnston:

Sessions featuring Tomas Lehtinen:

Sessions featuring Stefano Marta:

Sessions featuring Sam Milsom:

Sessions featuring Gurpreet Muctor:

Sessions featuring Rasmus Ry Nielsen:

Sessions featuring Zehra Öztürk:

Sessions featuring Liz Scott MBE:

Sessions featuring Dheeraj Singh:

Sessions featuring Tom Smith:

Sessions featuring Tiffany St James:

Sessions featuring Phil Swan:

Sessions featuring Julian Tait:

Sessions featuring Erik Ullstrand:

Sessions featuring Stephen Young:

Sessions featuring Martin Waudby: