Seoul claims top spot in global AI adoption, 3rd overall in 2026 AI Cities Index

Seoul ranked third overall and first in AI implementation in the 2026 AI Cities Index, compiled by The Observer and announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Thursday. The index assessed 57 cities in 36 countries across investment, innovation and implementation. Seoul’s municipal AI initiatives include autonomous buses, flood forecasting and welfare check-ins, while the city plans to train 10,000 AI professionals annually and establish a 500 billion won investment fund.

The index used 50 indicators across its three pillars, and San Francisco and New York ranked first and second overall.

Seoul ranked ahead of Tokyo and Singapore in implementation, which measures institutional frameworks, infrastructure and human capital for deploying AI.

A municipal AI committee oversees 61 administrative initiatives, including flood forecasts for 15 high-risk urban arterial roads.

The planned 500 billion won AI investment fund is valued at $377 million.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said municipal funding for the Youth AI Ladder scheme would be prioritized in the upcoming city budget.

Published Oct 22, 2026 11:33 am KST

Updated Oct 22, 2026 12:10 pm KST

UK's The Observer ranks Korean capital behind San Francisco, New York for public sector integration

A humanoid robot is demonstrated during AI SEOUL 2026, held on Jan. 30, at the Coex Grand Ballroom in Seoul. The conference highlighted the capital’s strategic push toward becoming a "Physical artificial intelligence-friendly city." Yonhap

Seoul has secured third place overall — and claimed the top spot worldwide in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and implementation — in the newly released 2026 AI Cities Index compiled by Britain’s The Observer, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday.

The benchmark evaluation, built on Tortoise Media’s established Global AI Index, assessed 57 major metropolitan centers across 36 countries using 50 indicators split into three core pillars: investment, innovation and implementation. San Francisco and New York claimed the top two global spots, while Seoul finished third, outranking major international hubs including Beijing, Paris and London, which filled out the fourth through sixth positions.

The Observer, founded in 1791 as the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, introduced city-level rankings for the first time this year, capturing a fundamental shift as AI power increasingly concentrates in urban centers.

Seoul’s standout performance came in the implementation category, where it ranked first globally ahead of Tokyo (third) and Singapore (fifth). This metric measures the institutional frameworks, infrastructure and human capital required to deploy AI effectively across business, government, education and civil society.

The Observer noted that while public sector AI adoption in American tech hubs like San Francisco remains fragmented across isolated pilot projects, Asian powerhouses like Seoul have established systemic, top-down integration. The index specifically highlighted Seoul’s public-private ecosystem, including industry-academia partnerships that grant small and medium-sized enterprises access to advanced computational infrastructure and expert technical support.

In practice, Seoul has turned its urban landscape into a living laboratory for civic AI. Under a dedicated municipal AI committee overseeing 61 distinct administrative initiatives, the capital is actively embedding machine intelligence into daily urban operations. This includes deployable AI systems such as autonomous late-night and early-morning transit buses designed to support essential shift workers, predictive flood-forecasting algorithms monitoring 15 high-risk urban arterial roads during torrential downpours and AI-powered welfare check-in services for vulnerable or isolated households.

To sustain this momentum, Seoul aims to train 10,000 AI professionals annually and build a 500 billion won ($377 million) targeted AI investment fund. The city is also finalizing its Youth AI Ladder scheme to issue vouchers granting young residents access to generative AI tools, workspace, and training. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon confirmed that municipal funding for the initiative will be prioritized in the upcoming city budget.

“We will ensure Seoul’s structural AI competitiveness directly translates into sustained business growth and a higher quality of life for our citizens,” Oh said.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

在《观察家报》编制、首尔市政府周四发布的2026年人工智能城市指数中，首尔总体排名第三，人工智能实施方面排名第一。该指数评估了36个国家的57个城市在投资、创新和实施方面的水平。首尔的市政人工智能项目包括自动驾驶公交车、洪水预报和福利检查，同时该市计划每年培训1万名人工智能专业人才，并设立5000亿韩元的投资基金。

该指数在其三大支柱中使用了 50 项指标，旧金山和纽约分别位列第一和第二。

在人工智能部署的制度框架、基础设施和人力资本方面，首尔的排名高于东京和新加坡。

市政人工智能委员会负责监督 61 项行政举措，其中包括对 15 条高风险城市干道进行洪水预报。

计划中的5000亿韩元人工智能投资基金估值为3.77亿美元。

吴世勋市长表示，即将出台的城市预算将优先考虑为青年人工智能阶梯计划提供市政资金。

发布于2026年10月22日上午11:33（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月22日下午12:10（韩国标准时间）

英国《观察家报》在公共部门融合度方面将韩国首都排在旧金山和纽约之后。

1月30日，在首尔COEX大宴会厅举行的AI SEOUL 2026大会上，一款人形机器人进行了演示。此次大会重点介绍了首尔致力于成为“实体人工智能友好型城市”的战略举措。（韩联社）

首尔市政府周四表示，在英国《观察家报》最新发布的 2026 年人工智能城市指数中，首尔总体排名第三，并在人工智能 (AI) 的采用和实施方面位居全球第一。

这项基于 Tortoise Media 成熟的全球人工智能指数的基准评估，使用 50 项指标对 36 个国家的 57 个主要都市中心进行了评估，这些指标分为三大核心支柱：投资、创新和实施。旧金山和纽约位列全球前两名，首尔排名第三，超过了北京、巴黎和伦敦等其他主要国际中心城市，这些城市分别位列第四至第六。

《观察家报》创办于 1791 年，是世界上历史最悠久的周日报纸。今年，该报首次推出城市级排名，反映了人工智能力量日益集中于城市中心这一根本性转变。

首尔在实施方面表现尤为突出，在全球排名第一，领先于东京（第三）和新加坡（第五）。该指标衡量的是在商业、政府、教育和公民社会中有效部署人工智能所需的制度框架、基础设施和人力资本。

《观察家报》指出，尽管像旧金山这样的美国科技中心在公共部门采用人工智能仍处于分散的试点阶段，而像首尔这样的亚洲科技强国已经建立了系统性的、自上而下的整合。该指数特别强调了首尔的公私合作生态系统，包括产学研合作模式，这种模式使中小企业能够获得先进的计算基础设施和专家技术支持。

实际上，首尔已将城市景观打造成公民人工智能的活实验室。在专门的市政人工智能委员会的领导下，首尔正积极将人工智能融入日常城市运营，该委员会负责监督61项不同的行政举措。这些举措包括部署各种人工智能系统，例如为一线轮班工作者设计的夜间和清晨自动驾驶公交车、在暴雨期间监测15条高风险城市主干道的洪水预测算法，以及为弱势或孤立家庭提供的人工智能福利探访服务。

为了保持这一发展势头，首尔计划每年培训1万名人工智能专业人才，并设立5000亿韩元（约合3.77亿美元）的人工智能专项投资基金。首尔市政府还在完善“青年人工智能阶梯计划”，该计划将发放代金券，使年轻居民能够使用生成式人工智能工具、工作空间和接受培训。首尔市长吴世勋确认，即将出台的市财政预算将优先考虑为该计划提供资金。

“我们将确保首尔在人工智能领域的结构性竞争力能够直接转化为持续的商业增长，并提高市民的生活质量，”吴先生说。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。