Welcome to the 2025 Smart City Initiative Newsletter, the central hub for news and updates on pilot programs, partnership opportunities, events, and upcoming challenges! 



As we embark on a new year, we are excited to continue our collaboration with friends, community members, and cross-sector partners dedicated to making Long Beach a place that uses technology for good.  

Reflecting on 2024, we are proud to highlight several key achievements: 

• LB Co-Lab Program Expansion: Following the successful first cohort of four pilot projects designed and deployed through our immersive community-driven technology program, the Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab), we are proud to launch a second cohort of LB Co-Lab for Long Beach residents to work with City staff to develop tech-based solutions that solve key Citywide challenges. Apply today to be a part of it! 

• Education on Data Privacy: We hosted twelve community workshops for Long Beach residents to learn how to keep their data safe and secure and provide guidance on how the City can protect resident data. In addition, we launched a transparent digital rights platform for you to learn about smart technologies and the data they collect.  

• Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI): We joined the Gov AI Coalition to advocate for ethical, safe, and purposeful use of AI systems in government, published the Long Beach Generative AI Guidance so Long Beach staff can safely use AI tools, and published two blog posts to keep residents informed on our equitable approach to AI.  

Looking ahead, we remain dedicated to supporting the ethical adoption of tech solutions to improve delivery of City services, protecting your data through transparent, democratic, and privacy-first processes, and encouraging public participation in tech decision-making to foster a collaborative environment for innovation, trust, and an informed community.  

We invite you to engage with us by reaching out at smartcity@longbeach.gov. Thank you for being a part of our journey toward a smarter, more equitable Long Beach. 

Here’s to a bright and successful year ahead, Happy New Year! 

Long Beach Smart City Initiative Team,

Ryan Kurtzman, Omar Moncayo, and Ryan Welch

Pictured: The Smart City Initiative team with collaborators Gati Wankyo and Adriana Morales, along with former team member Lesly Figueroa.  

Join LB Co-Lab! Become an Innovator in Residence 

The City of Long Beach is seeking Innovators in Residence (IIRs) to join the Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) for a unique, two-year long program where you’ll work alongside Long Beach City staff to co-design and implement technology-driven solutions to address real neighborhood challenges.  

Participants will be compensated $4,000 in total over the course of their 24-month commitment to the program. If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to transform your community through a participatory and democratic process, this is your chance!  

LB Co-Lab aims to create sustainable and scalable improvements in Long Beach neighborhoods, especially as the City prepares for the 2028 Olympics. As an Innovator in Residence, you’ll be part of the design team and will make key decisions to bring the chosen solution to life. 

Take the leap and apply to LB Co-Lab, opportunity awaits - Apply here! 

For more information, visit our website or view the IIR Job Description. If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Welch at Ryan.Welch@longbeach.gov. 

In December, Technology Partnerships Officer Ryan Kurtzman and Data Privacy Analyst Omar Moncayo participated in the inaugural Gov AI Coalition Summit. The event brought together public sector practitioners from across the country to learn about practical use cases for Generative AI and explore how to develop inclusive and ethical AI policies and standards to govern AI usage in a government context.  

Some of Ryan and Omar’s key takeaways include:  

• "Take things personally” - This advice comes at an important time in the AI policy space. We envision local government agencies like Long Beach as laboratories of democracy to champion ethical AI policy and inform scalable, transparent, best in class AI tools designed with people at the heart. 

• We don’t know what the future of AI will be, but as local governments, the pressing question is "What can I do, starting right now, to promote the future I want over the future I don't want?” We want to see an AI future that powers the good we work for every day and serves the public interest.  

• It’s essential to approach AI with cautious optimism, ensuring its deployment addresses specific, meaningful challenges facing our City rather than pursuing AI for its novelty. By focusing on real needs, we can harness AI’s transformative potential responsibly and with purpose. 

In January 2024, our team set four ambitious objectives and key results (OKRs) to provide direction to our portfolio of work. Each objective includes several performance measures so we can measure our value to our Long Beach customers.  

Below is a preview of how we met (or didn't meet) these objectives. Even though we didn’t meet all our targets, we believe in transparency so we can adjust our focus and improve in 2025!   

*The percentages indicate our progress at meeting the performance measures under each objective. In early 2025, we will publish a 2024 Year In Review report, which dives deeper into each performance measure.  

Ask Elby! Chatbot helps improve the City's Customer Service

The City of Long Beach's recent AI-powered virtual assistant, "Ask Elby," is designed to help residents access city services and information seamlessly. Over the 30-day trial period for Elby, 4,072 Long Beach residents asked Elby a question, and Elby facilitated nearly 7,000 total communications! Common topics included careers, street sweeping, and how to pay your parking ticket.  

At its core, Elby uses Natural Language Processing (NLP), a subset of artificial intelligence, to interpret and respond to users' questions conversationally. When a resident types a question, Elby breaks down the input into meaningful components, analyzes the context, and matches it to relevant data on the City’s website to generate an appropriate response. This ability to understand and process human language enables the chatbot to simulate human-like interactions, making information retrieval quick and efficient. 

Have you tried the Digital Inclusion Hotline?

To help you start the new year connected and empowered, the City offers a valuable resource through the Digital Inclusion Hotline. Whether you're looking for internet service options, low-cost computing devices, or extra digital skills support, the Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion is here to help residents connect to thrive in today's digital world. 

The Digital Inclusion hotline provides comprehensive support tailored through a callback model, ensuring each inquiry receives personalized attention. Reach out by calling (562) 570-7000 or emailing digitalinclusion@longbeach.gov. Digital Navigators are ready to help guide you to the resources to help you thrive in today's digital world. 

Dozens of Chrome Extensions Hacked, Exposing Millions of Users to Data Theft

A new attack campaign has targeted known Chrome browser extensions, compromising at least 35 extensions and exposing over 2.6 million users to data exposure and credential theft.

Here are Chrome browser extension user best practices to help keep your data secure:

• Install only necessary browser extensions
• Research and read reviews of the extension to help determine their credibility
• Keep the extensions up to date
• Periodically review if the extensions are still necessary