CARMEL Indiana is positioning itself for significant growth in 2026, with artificial intelligence potentially leading the charge as cities and institutions across the Hoosier State explore new ways to integrate the technology.C armel is among the communities embracing AI to boost municipal efficiency. The city sees the technology as a tool to improve operations and deliver better services to residents."AI is, as you know, taking over every aspect of our lives right now. And so it's incumbent upon us to look for ways to do our jobs better, faster, cheaper," Finkam said.WATCH FULL STORY BELOW Hoosier cities embracing AI technology to boost efficiencyFinkam tells WRTV she is hopeful to incorporate AI across the city."Planning and zoning, police department, legal. You know, a lot of the service-oriented aspects of what we do can be improved through the use of AI. And we're looking to see what has the biggest bang for the buck and to serve our constituents the best," Finkam shared.Isak Asare, director of cybersecurity and global policy program at Indiana University, believes the state should adopt AI gradually and strategically."I don't know if I could argue that it's important to embrace the technology. I think what's important is that we embrace certain outcomes," Asare said.Asare sees potential for AI to transform government services across Indiana."The promise of AI is that we could bring government closer services, more efficient, more quickly to Hoosiers. It also means that we can probably save money if we do it the right way," Asare said."You want to make sure that there's some guardrails so that you don't drive off, right? Should we be embracing it? Absolutely, but we've got to be doing it mindfully," Asari added. It's important you never provide AI with private information such as social security or credit card information.More information on how to operate AI safely is available on the Safe AI website. Griffin Gonzalez is the In Your Community multimedia journalist for Hamilton County.Hejoined WRTV in January of 2024. Griffin loves to tell stories about people overcoming their biggest obstacles and share the good news that his community has to offer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Griffin by emailing him at [email protected]. ...read more read less