AI-Driven IoT Systems for Sustainable Development

A Framework for Smart Governance

Abstract

This paper examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are reshaping urban governance and everyday life in Delhi—a flagship city under India’s Smart Cities Mission. Moving beyond a purely technical analysis, the study adopts an urban sociological lens to understand the sociopolitical implications of data-driven governance. It conceptualizes AI-IoT systems as socio-technical infrastructures that reconfigure how public services are delivered, how space is experienced, and how citizens interact with the state. Through a mixed-method approach—combining a critical literature review, technical analysis, and a case study of Delhi—the paper proposes a layered governance framework that accounts for both technological efficiency and social embeddedness. Empirical insights from traffic, pollution, and waste management systems reveal that smart technologies, while enabling operational gains, often reproduce existing inequalities in digital visibility, spatial access, and civic participation. The framework underscores the need for participatory, inclusive, and ethically grounded smart governance. It highlights how AI-IoT systems are not neutral tools but are embedded in political decisions, bureaucratic processes, and contested urban imaginaries. The paper concludes by proposing a roadmap for integrating urban sociological thinking into digital policy design, ensuring that the smart city remains not only technologically advanced but also socially just.