Social Media Analytics in Analysing Perceptions

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is a powerful technology with increasing popularity and applications in areas ranging from marketing to banking and finance, from agriculture to healthcare and security, from space exploration to robotics and transport, and from chatbots to artificial creativity and manufacturing. Despite many of these areas closely related to the urban context, there is limited understanding of the trending artificial intelligence technologies and their application areas—or concepts—in the urban planning and development fields. Similarly, there is a knowledge gap in how the public perceives artificial intelligence technologies, their application areas, and artificial intelligence-related policies and practices of our cities. This chapter aims to advance our understanding of the relationship between the key artificial intelligence technologies and their key application areas in urban planning and development. To this end, this study examines public perceptions of how artificial intelligence technologies and their application areas in urban planning and development are perceived and utilised in the testbed case study of Australian states and territories. The methodological approach of this chapter employs the social media analytics method and conducts sentiment and content analyses of location-based Twitter messages from Australia. The results disclosed that: (a) Digital transformation, innovation, and sustainability are the most popular artificial intelligence application areas in urban planning and development; (b) Drones, automation, robotics, and big data are the most popular artificial intelligence technologies utilised in urban planning and development; and (c) Achieving the digital transformation and sustainability of cities through the use of artificial intelligence technologies—such as big data, automation, and robotics—is the central community discussion topic.