Last night, with national experts alongside voices rooted in Philly, we pulled back the curtain on how AI is being deployed in our city. There’s a lot we don’t know, but here’s what we do:
👁️AI is being used ON us, not by us.
AI is used by bosses to monitor our work, landlords to inflate our rent, health insurance CEOs to auto-deny our claims, and big retailers to charge more for things we need. SEPTA uses AI to monitor or report riders—not make our transit faster, cheaper, or more frequent. Predatory, toxic data centers are forced onto poor communities of color, where they waste water, burn energy, pollute the air, and raise utility bills. The benefits of AI accrue for tech companies—not us.
💰AI is buried in the budget.
When the City buys AI and surveillance tools, they’re buried under layers of contracts with tech companies instead of clear line items. This opaque system, where decisions are made behind closed doors, makes it near-impossible for us to know how our public dollars are being spent or to weigh in on the process.
🔍 Transparency is critical, but not enough.
Shining a light on what tech the city is using, how it’s being implemented, and who is being impacted is just the first step. We need bright line rules that ban the most abusive uses of AI, break the cycle of harm, and don’t let tech companies write their own rulebook.
💡The AI and surveillance takeover isn’t inevitable.
Philly has a choice to stand up to billionaire-driven tech parades, protect our people, and prevent the abuse of AI and surveillance before the harm is done. We deserve a say in how tech and AI is used in our City.
Thanks to our communities organizing , the city’s hearing on AI is back on the calendar.
Join us on October 15, 2025, for the first-ever City Council hearing on AI and surveillance. It’s time to put Philly’s use of AI on the public record, and set a new standard for how tech is used in our City.
