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13/10/2026

Human or Not? Annual POLIS Conference 2026's Opening Plenary explores AI governance in mobility

The Annual POLIS Conference 2026's Opening Plenary will explore the opportunities, risks, and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in transport, bringing together perspectives from cities, research, and industry to discuss the implications of emerging technologies for urban and regional mobility.

The plenary will open with a welcome from Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of POLIS, and Dejan Crnek, POLIS President and Deputy Mayor of the City of Ljubljana. Karen Vancluysen will also moderate the Opening Plenary.


Setting the scene: AI and responsible mobility

Margriet van Schijndel-de Nooij, Manager Responsible Mobility at Eindhoven University of Technology, will deliver the keynote address. Drawing on her work at the intersection of mobility research, emerging technologies, and societal challenges, she will explore AI's implications for urban and regional mobility and set the scene for the discussions to follow.


A panel bringing together cities and industry

The keynote will be followed by a panel featuring:

The panellists will bring perspectives from technology, local government and the wider mobility sector to the discussion on the opportunities, risks, and governance of AI in transport.


Circling back, moving forward? Ten years after #POLIS16

The plenary will conclude with a fireside chat, 'Circling back, moving forward? Ten years after the Rotterdam #POLIS16 Plenary on automation', featuring Philippe Crist and Marc Rozendal. The conversation will revisit the debate on automation from 2016, reflecting on developments over the past decade and the questions that will shape the next chapter of mobility.

Join us at the Annual POLIS Conference 2026, taking place on 2-3 December in Brussels, Belgium, to explore the issues shaping the future of urban and regional mobility.



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