Aik van Eemeren
Lead Public Tech

Aik van Eemeren is the lead PublicTech at the Chief Technology Office of the City of Amsterdam, leading Amsterdam's PublicTech program where they aim to make new technology work for all residents. The Public Tech program studies the impact of new technology in the city and experiment on how it can help the city. We investigate how we should deal with this, we try out technology. To take advantage of technology opportunities and to oversee risks, we invest in knowledge and skills about technologies. Together with partners, new (technological) developments are monitored and we ensure that technology is only used if the interests of the Amsterdammer are sufficiently safeguarded. Aik is responsible for a wide variety of innovative projects in public space, infrastructure and the governmental organization itself. In example working on Amsterdam’s data sovereignty projects such as DECODE-project.eu, the technology-roadmap Beyond the Hype, kickstarting Amsterdam’s AI-strategy and Agenda on AI, and exploring how to push ethical and trustworthy tech in and for the city. Active on Digital Rights as one of the initiators of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights. In the past ten years he experienced innovation from several angles by fulfilling different roles: secretary-director of the Dutch network for high level government officials, initiator, coach, member of reflection committees and the advisory board and as policy advisor.