New AI cities: power, new cities and urban artificial intelligence in Neom and The Line

Nowadays, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of new cities are intersecting. This article explores this intersection focusing on a megaproject called Neom in Saudi Arabia. The article’s empirical contribution is threefold. First, it sheds light on how and why the urban is becoming a site of AI experimentation through the genesis of new cities. Second, it examines the dynamics of AI experiments taking place in new cities. Third, it exposes the extent to which sustainability is actually pursued by the developers of both new cities and new AIs. Drawing on data collected in Saudi Arabia, the article reveals how behind Neom’s AI experiments is a politico-economic agenda whereby new technologies and new cities, such as The Line, become a medium to consolidate the power of the Saudi Crown Prince. From a theoretical perspective, the article advances the concept of new AI cities. It explains how fantasies about AI land in ex novo urban projects, and evolve generating new fantasies that picture sustainable cities operated by fully autonomous AIs and populated by sentient robots possessing citizenship. These are dangerous fantasies that risk realizing the dreams of power-hungry individuals, to the detriment of social and environmental sustainability.