The underlying and basic foundations of the smart city: where do artificial intelligence, machine learning and other buzz words fit in the narrative?

The prospects of the smart city concept and its underlying benefits to contemporary cities are materializing gradually due to the availability of numerous advanced technologies. It is not surprising that increased resources are being channelled in these technologies; including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Cloud Computing and others are fashioned to help in data collection, analysis, computation and interpretation. Such technologies are important, as the heart of the Smart City concept is based on data being generated from different urban fabrics and how such are exploited to inform subtle decisions to enhance efficiency and performance. However, for the data to be effectively manipulated, the different technologies need to be deployed and integrated robustly to guarantee quality of both data and the insight drawn thereof. This chapter dwells into the varying technologies forming part of the Smart City concept, and explores how, collectively, they can contribute in rendering cities that are more efficient.