Sophie Woodville

Cities don't have a talent shortage so much as a time shortage — expertise trapped in legacy systems and retiring minds. This keynote shows how agentic AI captures institutional knowledge, absorbs routine casework, and puts the right insight at the moment of decision, so every employee works faster, smarter, and closer to the mission.

What happens when trusted, federated data infrastructure meets agentic AI? This session explores how the Dutch DMI ecosystem and its Products & Data eXchange (PDX) enable organisations to share and use data while maintaining trust, control and data sovereignty. Caspar de Jonge and Lars van Vianen show how AI agents can connect data, organisations and expertise, turning intelligence into action—and pointing towards a federated European ecosystem for smarter cities and regions.

Beyond access and literacy, this session argues for a genuine digital understanding: the ability of every citizen to navigate the digital world critically, distinguish reliable information from manipulation, and make informed, mindful choices about personal data and attention. It calls for a sustained civic commitment to building a digitally mature society and nurturing a shared digital culture.