Awards to culminate with the naming of the 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year in June at the ICF Summit in New York City

(July 3, 2018 – New York City) - The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) today announced “Infinite Learning” as the theme for the 2019 cycle of its prestigious Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program.  The Forum’s Intelligent Community of the Year will be named in June in New York.  Nominations close on September 21, 2018.  Along the way toward naming the Intelligent Community of the Year, the Smart21 and Top7 will be announced in October and February.

“Intelligence is our most powerful tool for building our societies.  Artificial intelligence is still a long way from fulfilling its potential,” said co-founder Robert Bell, “but some estimate that half of all the activities we do for work can be automated already. This is a fearful idea for many.  The best way for people to win the race against machine intelligence is to continuously increase their own through lifelong education, learning and the cultivation of their deepest interests.”

The annual Awards Program, which is run by the New York-based think-tank, will name its 21st Intelligent Community of the Year at the 2019 ICF Summit in June 2019 in New York City. The surprise 2018 recipient, Espoo, Finland, was named in London on 6 June.

More information and nomination forms for the Awards Program can be found at www.intelligentcommunity.org/nominations. There is no cost to submit a nomination.  The deadline to nominate a community is 21 September 2018.  Communities qualifying for the Smart21, Top7 or Intelligent Community of the Year become part of a global working group of regions, cities and towns organized by ICF.  There are currently over 170.  They also receive media coverage, investment inquiries and independent validation of their community’s progress as they strive to keep their best people “home.”

More about the 2019 Theme: Infinite Learning

The accelerating development of machine learning is beginning to transform the way we live. 

From smart search engines and talking computers to facial recognition and automatic translation, the applications grow, each more sophisticated than the last and each delivering a service that, once upon a time, only human beings could provide.  The smartest systems of today are far from realizing the potential of artificial intelligence.  But they already promise immense changes in work and jobs, the creation of wealth, the management of organizations and how we conduct our daily lives, with much more to come. 

Human Response

As machine intelligence becomes ever more powerful and widespread, it is ultimately up to human intelligence to decide how prosperous or poor it will make us and how our societies and cultures will adapt.  The government of nations, states and provinces have no hope of keeping up with the pace of this change.  It is at the local level – where governments, organizations and citizens connect most closely – that we have the best chance to turning the technology change into human benefit. 

Community Action

Central to that success will be the ability of leaders, employees and citizens to accelerate their own learning.  Coping with machine learning means making revolutionary changes in how, when and where we learn, what skills we adopt, and how education is delivered.  Knowledge must be gained for its own value – but also with deep understanding of the needs of employers today and in the future.  More than knowledge, citizens young and old must build the capacity for continuous learning throughout their lives, with the skilled support of governments and institutions, and the willing participation of employers who can turn skill into innovation and prosperity.  To match the infinite ability of machines to learn, our communities must build their own capacity for infinite learning. 

Click here to read more about Infinite Learning.

About Intelligent Community Forum (ICF)
The Intelligent Community Forum is a global network with a think tank at its center. It connects hundreds of cities and regions on five continents for collaboration on economic development and for exchange of expertise and information that drives progress. Through this network, ICF researches how Intelligent Communities use information and communications technology to build inclusive prosperity, solve social problems and enrich their quality of life in our connected century. ICF is headquartered in New York City, is a worldwide organization that is renowned for its efforts recognizing Intelligent Community excellence through its annual awards programs, workshops, conferences and other support. Today there are nearly 170 Intelligent Communities around the world, and growing annually, with Intelligent Community representatives on every continent. The Intelligent Community Forum Foundation (ICFF) is the association of these Intelligent Communities, aimed at working together to share information and develop more Intelligent Communities throughout the world. As ICF’s principles are sought after around the world, there is an opportunity for each country to focus its ICF-related efforts within their region. For more information, visit http://www.intelligentcommunity.org

Contact:
Matthew Owen, Director of Operations, Intelligent Community Forum
Tel. +1 646-291-6166 (x105)
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Newcommunities