Denver appoints first-ever chief AI officer to transform city services

Denver CIO Suma Nallapati will expand her role to become the city’s first chief artificial intelligence and information officer (CAIO), a move Mayor Mike Johnston says positions Denver as a leader in municipal AI adoption. This new role reflects the growing importance of AI in city operations and the need for dedicated leadership to ensure responsible implementation across government services.

What you should know: Nallapati, who has served as Denver’s CIO since 2023, will lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive AI strategy for the city and county.
• Her expanded responsibilities include creating policies around AI governance and equity while coordinating AI projects and tools across all city departments.
• The role change comes as Denver actively seeks AI vendors through a request for proposals to improve both city operations and resident experiences.

Why this matters: Denver is positioning itself as “the nation’s most forward-thinking AI city,” according to Mayor Johnston, with AI becoming a core capability for more responsive government services.
• The dedicated CAIO role ensures AI implementation remains “ethical, inclusive and deeply human-centered” while building public trust and closing opportunity gaps.
• This leadership structure allows the city to accelerate AI project timelines while reducing procurement costs and overhead.

Current AI initiatives: Under Nallapati’s leadership, Denver has already launched several AI-powered services for residents and staff.
• The city deployed Sunny, a multilingual AI chatbot that assists residents with city services and information.
• City and county employees now have access to Microsoft Copilot Chat, a secure AI assistant for internal operations.

What they’re saying: Nallapati emphasized the transformative potential of AI in municipal government.
• “AI is no longer just a tool — it’s a core capability for a more responsive, resilient and resident-focused government,” she said in a statement.
• “I am honored to lead this next chapter as we responsibly scale AI to improve lives, close equity gaps and deliver smarter public services for every Denverite.”

The big picture: Nallapati’s role expansion reflects a broader trend of cities creating dedicated AI leadership positions to manage the complex challenges of implementing artificial intelligence in public sector operations while maintaining accountability and equity.