Mayors to Gather in South Bend to Talk Automation

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (file photo)

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South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will today and tomorrow host members of the United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on Automation. Buttigieg launched the task force in January to help mayors prepare for the effects of automation and artificial intelligence.

When he launched the effort, Buttigieg said automation was "already re-shaping the economies of communities like South Bend." He says mayors throughout the United States will play a key role in supporting workers effected by automation "as it changes everything from trucking to accounting."

The Conference of Mayors says the two-day meeting will focus on topics including: 

• The impact and opportunity of automated systems for city-as-enterprise
• Impacts on planning, infrastructure, and placemaking decisions
• The future of work and evolution of labor markets
• The changing relationship between work, income, and identity

Buttigieg is a member of the Conference of Mayors’ Advisory Board. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson is also on the board, while Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard is among the group’s trustees.