AI in Smart Cities: Exploring What Motivates Citizens and How It Affects Well-being

The study explores how trust, engagement features like gamification, and perceived risks influence public adoption of AI-powered smart city systems in Portugal. It finds that trust is crucial for encouraging usage, which in turn enhances productivity and overall well-being.

In a cross-institutional effort involving the NOVA Information Management School and Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, along with the School of Economics and Business at the University of Ljubljana, researchers have delivered a timely and comprehensive study on how people interact with AI-powered smart city systems. The study explores the psychological and practical dimensions of adopting smart urban technologies. Using a survey of 144 Portuguese residents and guided by the Belief-Action-Outcome (BAO) framework, the study sheds light on why people choose to use (or avoid) these systems and what that means for their daily lives.

What Pushes Us to Use AI in the City?

At the heart of the study are three primary motivators: empowerment, ubiquity, and gamification. Empowerment refers to the feeling of being in control and competent while using smart systems. Ubiquity highlights the always-on, everywhere-accessible nature of modern AI solutions. Gamification, on the other hand, stands out as a star player: it injects fun, challenge, and competition into what might otherwise be mundane tasks. Whether it’s earning points for eco-friendly commutes in Stockholm’s “Commute Greener” or gaining traffic badges in Waze, game mechanics are proving to be more than gimmicks they are critical tools for engagement. Among these, gamification had the strongest effect, followed by ubiquity. Interestingly, empowerment, while positively associated with usage intention, did not remain significant once trust was factored in revealing trust’s outsized role in user decision-making.

What Holds Us Back: Risks and Privacy Worries

The study also zooms in on the psychological brakes: perceived risk and privacy concerns. Users were understandably hesitant about the potential dangers of AI systems, including misuse of personal data, system failures, or lack of transparency. Perceived risk had a substantial negative impact on people’s willingness to engage. However, privacy concerns often assumed to be a dealbreaker, surprisingly did not significantly deter users in this study. The authors suggest that Portugal’s robust data protection environment, bolstered by the European Union’s GDPR, might explain this result. In places where institutional protections are trusted, users may feel less anxious about sharing data. Another explanation could be the emergence of a “privacy calculus” mindset, where users are increasingly willing to exchange personal information for services they find beneficial.

The Power of Trust: A Silent Influencer

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the research is the role trust plays in the adoption of smart city technologies. Trust not only moderates the impact of perceived risks but also enhances the influence of key drivers like ubiquity and gamification. For instance, people who have high trust in the system are far more likely to adopt it, even if they’re aware of its risks. Trust also significantly amplifies the positive impact of usage on individual outcomes, such as improved productivity and well-being. This makes trust the great enabler of the smart city revolution. The study’s authors suggest several ways to cultivate this trust: transparency in how data is used, intuitive and reliable design, visible safeguards, and public education efforts to demystify AI systems. In essence, the success of AI in cities doesn’t rest only on technical innovation, but on whether people believe in it.

More Than Efficiency: Boosting Life Satisfaction

Beyond the mechanics of adoption, the study delves into what happens after people start using smart city systems. It turns out that these tools do more than make cities run efficiently; they actually enhance the quality of life. Users reported improvements in day-to-day productivity, better time management, and increased satisfaction with their surroundings. In statistical terms, usage intention had a strong positive effect on both individual impact and subjective well-being. These findings close a gap in existing research, which has often focused narrowly on adoption while neglecting the broader human outcomes. The authors argue that these positive effects make a compelling case for further investment in smart technologies that are not just smart, but people-centric.

Smart Cities Must Be Built Around People, Not Just Tech

While the study offers an optimistic view of AI’s role in urban environments, the authors caution against overgeneralising. The research was based in Portugal, a developed country with strong digital infrastructure and data laws, and may not fully reflect conditions in less regulated or lower-income regions. Cultural differences, economic disparities, and trust in public institutions all shape how citizens perceive and use technology. Moreover, the study focuses specifically on public-facing smart systems rather than private environments like smart homes or vehicles. Future research could expand this scope, using comparative, cross-cultural methods and longitudinal designs to understand evolving attitudes over time.

Nonetheless, the key takeaway is clear: the success of smart cities hinges not only on innovation, but on how people interact with that innovation. By designing systems that are accessible, engaging, and trustworthy, and by centering citizens’ needs in the development process, cities can harness AI not just to function better but to help people live better.