Artificial Intelligence

Using AI to Understand Public Sentiment

Led by: Eyal Feder-Levy & Wietse Van Ransbeeck

AI is transforming how governments understand and respond to community concerns, offering new ways to analyze public feedback and strengthen constituent trust. This workshop will explore how AI-powered platforms can process data from multiple sources to provide actionable insights that inform decision-making and make engagement more representative, transparent, and responsive. Participants will learn practical strategies for integrating AI tools into their communications work, including frameworks for analyzing sentiment across diverse community voices and navigating the ethical considerations that arise when deploying these emerging technologies. Drawing on real-world examples from cities across the United States and globally, this session will equip state and local government communications professionals with approaches to leverage AI while maintaining authenticity and building public trust.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify where AI-driven sentiment analysis can add value to public engagement and communications efforts.
Apply practical frameworks to analyze public sentiment across diverse communities without losing nuance or context.
Evaluate ethical risks—including bias, transparency, and representativeness—when using AI to interpret public feedback.