This Month's Latest Tech News in West Palm Beach, FL - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Artificial intelligence is driving a transformative wave across West Palm Beach, reshaping public services, education, and business. The town of Palm Beach recently launched the "Ask Poli" AI chatbot, an accessible platform that answers civic queries in over 70 languages and streamlines access to municipal information for residents and visitors.

In higher education, Vanderbilt University unveiled plans for a new West Palm Beach campus centered on business, AI, and data science - an innovation hub expected to serve nearly 1,000 graduate students and nurture collaboration between academia and industry.

As Chancellor Daniel Diermeier noted,

"We are planning a unique learning and research environment that nurtures collaboration and innovation and is sustainable in all senses."

Meanwhile, local professionals are gaining a competitive edge through cutting-edge training like Florida Atlantic University's Artificial Intelligence in Business certificate, which emphasizes deploying AI to streamline operations and improve strategic decision-making.

This regional AI momentum is further supported by workshops and networking, including specialized events for small businesses, as outlined in the AI for Small Businesses workshop designed to help local entrepreneurs safely and ethically integrate AI into daily operations.

Palm Beach has elevated civic access with the launch of “Ask Poli,” a multilingual AI chatbot developed in partnership with Polimorphic, designed to improve community interactions with town services while supporting over 70 languages.

This always-available assistant leverages natural language processing to help residents navigate municipal information, from parking permits to complex codes, and provides seamless human handoff if an inquiry requires specialized support.

As the town modernizes its digital experience, a revamped Public Meetings Portal also provides residents with streamlined access to records, customized email notifications, and the ability to submit written public comments directly to agendas.

The table below summarizes Ask Poli's core features:

Feature	Description
Multilingual Support	Responds in 70+ languages
24/7 Real-Time Assistance	Immediate answers using town website content
Accessibility	Simplifies complex content and escalates to staff if needed

“Implementing AI features like the chatbot makes public information more accessible to everyone and contributes to a more inclusive and connected community,” said Parth Shah, CEO and founder of Polimorphic.

These initiatives reflect Palm Beach's broader commitment to transparency, innovation, and digital inclusivity.

Learn more about the technology and its rollout from GovTech's coverage on Palm Beach's AI chatbot launch, insights from the official town news release, and detailed reporting by the Palm Beach Daily News.

This hurricane season, Palm Beach County is set to benefit from BEACON - the nation's first AI-driven emergency alert system, developed through a partnership between the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the University of Florida, and Futuri Media.

BEACON (Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network) provides real-time, location-specific emergency information via traditional radio, mobile apps, and streaming platforms, ensuring residents receive timely alerts even during power and network outages.

The system delivers voice alerts in multiple languages, with current support for English and Spanish and plans to add Haitian Creole, and automates the broadcast of official safety information 24/7.

“I don't think there's another state in the nation where emergency alerting is as important as it is in the state of Florida,” said Dr. Randy Wright, University of Florida Executive Director of Media Properties.

This initiative is a direct response to last year's catastrophic tornado outbreaks and hurricane damage, aiming to address past vulnerabilities in alert delivery across the region.

The BEACON app and dedicated radio channels will launch in West Palm Beach and neighboring cities within the next three months, enhancing public safety and preparedness for severe weather.

For further details on BEACON's launch and impact, read coverage by WPTV on How This Weather Alert System Is Leveraging AI, explore the statewide rollout in BusinessWire Article on Futuri and FDEM's First-Ever AI-driven Emergency Broadcast System, and learn about the system's practical benefits in WFLX Spotlight on BEACON Enhanced Weather Alerts.

ZenaTech's recent acquisition of West Palm Beach's Wallace Surveying Corporation is propelling the region to the forefront of AI-driven drone innovation, particularly through its expanding Drone as a Service (DaaS) model.

Leveraging Wallace's three decades of land surveying expertise, ZenaTech now offers advanced bathymetric surveys, deploying AI-powered drones equipped with sonar for precise underwater mapping - a capability vital for commercial and government projects in maintenance, environmental planning, and aquatic development.

This strategic move gives local and national clients access to essential data faster, safer, and more affordably than traditional manned surveys, as emphasized by CEO Shaun Passley:

“The Wallace team brings key customer relationships and bathymetric survey expertise that will enhance our national DaaS drone offerings. Bathymetric surveys using aerial drones offer faster, safer, and more cost-effective data collection… drones require fewer personnel, reduce operational risks, and can access shallow or narrow areas with greater precision.”

The DaaS subscription and pay-per-use business model reduces customer costs and eliminates the complexity of drone ownership.

As shown below, the bathymetric survey market is projected to grow substantially, highlighting both regional and global momentum:

Aspect	Details
Market Size (2023)	$1.2 billion
Projected Market Size (2032)	$2.1 billion
Key Acquisition	Wallace Surveying (West Palm Beach)
Drones Used	ZenaDrone 1000, IQ Series

To learn more about ZenaTech's strategic DaaS expansion, visit the official announcement of ZenaTech's bathymetric drone service offerings, consult the detailed DaaS market and acquisition report, or explore further industry context in the latest drone surveying market analysis and trends.

AI and fintech innovation are at the forefront of the 43rd Annual Options Industry Conference, set for May 6–8, 2025, at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.

With a program rich in panels and keynote insights, this year's conference emphasizes how artificial intelligence, big data, and advanced analytics are redefining options trading and risk management.

Sessions like “State of the Industry” bring together key leaders from Cboe Global Markets, Webull, ORATS, and Interactive Brokers to spotlight the ways market participants are leveraging cutting-edge technologies for strategy and compliance, while additional panels delve into the surging influence of retail investors and the rise of defined outcome ETFs, which use options to manage volatility and tailor risk profiles for end investors according to the official conference agenda.

Addressing the growing demand for hands-off, AI-powered trading, platforms such as Cashflow AI now provide autonomous options strategies with features like proprietary risk controls and automatic hedging, designed to deliver consistent returns even during high market volatility; as the company's founder put it,

“Cashflow AI is designed for people who want their money working for them without micromanaging trades. We're focused on stability, transparency, and long-term performance - not hype or speculation.”

Read more about Cashflow AI's automated trading platform and passive income strategies.

Conference events also highlight the transformation of options education, with experts discussing AI-driven learning tools to empower both professional and retail traders.

For a comprehensive view of how industry leaders and emerging technologies are shaping the market's future, see Traders Magazine's in-depth preview of the 43rd Annual Options Industry Conference.

The innovative “Unfinished Legacies” campaign harnesses artificial intelligence to combat the skyrocketing fentanyl crisis, offering a powerful and deeply personal approach to overdose prevention.

Spearheaded by the City of Kansas City, United Way, and BarkleyOKRP, this initiative recreates the voices and likenesses of young victims lost to accidental fentanyl overdoses - such as Jaden Anderson, Victor Avalos Marmolejo, and Jordan Coburn - giving them a platform to educate peers about the hidden dangers of counterfeit pills and illicit fentanyl.

As reported by KCTV5, these AI-generated videos are designed to reach youth on social media, billboards, and public spaces, amplifying messages like “What I didn't know, no one knew, is that there was fentanyl in it.

Now I'm gone because I didn't know.” The campaign responds to a local 1,190% increase in fentanyl deaths over five years, with overdoses now the second leading cause of death for Kansas Citians ages 18–24 (United Way partnership details).

Efforts are part of a broader nationwide movement, including awareness events, the distribution of overdose-reversal tools like naloxone, and education about fentanyl's extreme potency - just two milligrams, or a few grains of sand, can be lethal (DEA Fentanyl Awareness information).

These approaches, combining cutting-edge technology, real stories, and multidisciplinary collaboration, embody a pivotal step in reducing stigma and saving lives.

AI is rapidly reshaping South Florida's architecture scene, empowering firms with advanced tools for design visualization and streamlining workflows from concept to client.

For example, Stantec's use of AI has cut traditional rendering tasks from a week and thousands of dollars to just minutes, greatly accelerating project timelines and facilitating more interactive client collaboration.

As highlighted in a feature on AI-driven architecture in Miami, a small but growing cohort of regional architects creatively apply AI for rapid prototyping and more engaging presentations.

Industry experts, such as Brendan Mullins, note that, despite the hype, “AI is going to become like the Internet or electricity. It will be part of our daily process, and you won't even really blink when you use it.”

“With AI and computational design, I see us closing [the design visualization] gap again, iterating at a rapid speed, the same way we could draw,” Mullins remarked in a recent Q&A on tech adoption in architecture.

The 2025 market reflects these shifts - according to industry research, 70% of architecture firms plan to invest in advanced rendering tools this year, anticipating a market size of $2.04 billion for AI-powered 3D rendering.

The chart below compares common software solutions driving this revolution:

Software	Annual Cost	Key Features
D5 Render	$360	Real-time AI rendering, large asset library
3D Studio Max	$2,085	Advanced modeling, high-end visualization
Lumion	$749–$1,499	Quick visualization, user-friendly
V-Ray	$466–$694	Photorealistic, deep customization
Unreal Engine	Free (royalty-based for commercial use)	VR integration, real-time rendering

While AI supercharges speed and efficiency, industry voices stress that human judgment and creativity remain indispensable in architectural design.

For deeper insights into the evolving partnership between tech and creativity, explore the Stantec interview on design visualization and AI, as well as the latest analysis of workflow trends in AI-powered 3D rendering for 2025.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as the next frontier in West Palm Beach real estate marketing, reshaping how properties achieve visibility in an era dominated by AI-driven platforms like Google Gemini and Perplexity.

Unlike traditional SEO, which targets organic search rankings, GEO focuses on crafting authentic, comprehensive, and conversational content that AI models prioritize in their instant answer summaries, giving marketers a powerful new way to capture prospective buyers' attention.

As Multi-Housing News explains,

“The days of simply trying to rank for keywords to hit the top of a search result are gone. We need a more thoughtful content approach that encourages engagement.”

This shift is being fueled by rapid advances in generative AI, as West Palm Beach REALTORS® leverage automated description tools and predictive analytics to streamline listings and better target market opportunities (Miami REALTORS® AI Hub).

According to experts, best practices for GEO include maintaining solid SEO foundations, regularly updating Google Business profiles, and prioritizing dynamic, omni-channel content distributed across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The table below summarizes the key differences between SEO and GEO strategies:

Aspect	SEO	GEO
Goal	Rank higher on traditional search results	Appear in AI-generated summaries
Technology	Search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo)	AI and LLMs (Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity)
Content Focus	Keywords, page ranking	Authenticity, engagement, relevance

As highlighted by Walker Sands, brands that integrate GEO into their strategies will secure a competitive edge, ensuring that their properties are not only discoverable in West Palm Beach's evolving market but also represented accurately and compellingly in AI-powered future searches.

South Florida is rapidly becoming a national testbed for AI in education, with Miami-Dade County Public Schools spearheading the largest school district deployment of generative AI chatbots in the U.S., training over 1,000 educators and rolling out Google's Gemini platform to more than 105,000 high school students - a move that experts call a “big bet” on the future of classroom learning.

According to The New York Times' deep dive on Miami's initiatives, A.I. tools are now enabling students to interactively role-play with historical figures and analyze AI-generated content, blending creativity with critical thinking.

However, education thought leaders caution that such sweeping adoption demands vigilant local leadership, transparency, and a focus on equity to counter risks of algorithmic bias and classroom disempowerment, as detailed in EdSource's analysis of AI's classroom impact.

At the university level, the embrace of AI extends to new centers and innovation labs, positioning the region as a hub for both practical classroom deployments and broader workforce reskilling.

As this technological shift continues, local leadership is crucial for harnessing AI's potential while upholding educational values - a sentiment that echoes the balanced perspectives found in critiques such as WORLD's opinion piece on systemic challenges.

As Dallas schools Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde emphasizes,

“It's irresponsible to not teach (AI). We have to. We are preparing kids for their future.”

This represents an era where technology and thoughtful policy must advance hand in hand for South Florida students and educators alike.

As artificial intelligence shapes the future of work in Palm Beach and beyond, local institutions and policymakers are ramping up efforts to equip the workforce for rapid changes.

At the recent AI: Here and Now Summit at Palm Beach State College, tech leaders highlighted the dual impact of AI: automating repetitive roles while also creating new opportunities that require adaptability and specialized skills in collaboration with emerging technologies.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Florida's job market shows Florida added 430,800 jobs in early 2025, with major gains in cities like West Palm Beach and growing demand in AI-driven roles; in fact, “Artificial Intelligence Engineer” is now the fastest-growing job title for new college graduates in Central Florida.

To support this transition, funding and training are accelerating: for instance, CareerSource Broward secured a $300,000 grant for AI workforce training to upskill employees displaced by GenAI and help businesses leverage new technologies.

According to workforce leaders,

“GenAI is transforming our workplaces, and we can provide businesses with the tools and training necessary to stay competitive.”

These targeted investments, combined with educational pipelines like PBSC's Applied Artificial Intelligence degree and strong job market expansion, position Palm Beach to proactively manage AI-driven job market shifts and maintain its competitive edge in the evolving tech landscape.

West Palm Beach is cementing its role as a hub for tech-driven healthcare transformation for veterans, thanks to robust public-private partnerships and the region's deep involvement in national innovation initiatives.

The Veterans Health Make-a-thon 2024, spearheaded at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital with support from Microsoft and the VA Innovation Ecosystem, produced AI-powered prototypes addressing challenges like suicide prevention and improved access to care - solutions now advancing through a six-month accelerator and pilot program at VA centers, including West Palm Beach (Veterans Health Make-a-thon 2024: Driving Innovation to Transform Veteran Care).

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, one of Florida's major veterans' facilities with 243 staffed beds, played a pivotal part, with local innovators Nemaris Perez and Remelia Pryor among the Make-a-thon's winning teams advancing to the next development phase (50 largest VA hospitals by number of staffed beds).

Under the leadership of Dr. Indra Sandal, recognized nationally for her excellence in healthcare innovation, these initiatives are making the VA a proving ground for generative AI in healthcare, from faster scheduling to suicide prevention and streamlined hiring.

As Dr. Sandal aptly stated at the 2025 American College of Healthcare Executives Congress,

“Public-private partnerships are an excellent way to accelerate health care innovation while drawing upon diverse experiences and resources that push the boundaries of what is possible. Our hope is that this model can serve as a pipeline for innovation at any organization.”

This ongoing commitment was further reflected in the recent centennial celebration of VA research advances, highlighting both legacy breakthroughs and today's cutting-edge AI solutions (James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital Celebrates 100 Years of VA Research Milestones).

As West Palm Beach accelerates its tech-forward transformation, the city's adoption of advanced digital tools is redefining public engagement and local opportunities.

The rollout of the redesigned Public Meetings Portal and innovative AI chatbot, Ask Poli, makes local government more transparent and accessible - simplifying access to records, facilitating multilingual dialogue, and streamlining interactions for both residents and officials (Town of Palm Beach - New Public Meetings Portal and AI Chatbot).

These civic upgrades, developed in partnership with Polimorphic, echo Polimorphic CEO Parth Shah's vision:

“Implementing AI features like the chatbot makes public information more accessible to everyone and contributes to a more inclusive and connected community.”

The significance of these developments is underscored by coverage in the Palm Beach Daily News on the city's integrated platform launch, which highlights the portal's user-friendly experience, centralized public comments, and historical data outreach.

As AI becomes central to civic life, educational leaders are stepping up: Palm Beach State College's recent summit drew business and academic leaders together to spotlight workforce readiness and the transformative role of AI across sectors, from healthcare to robotics (PBSC's AI and Robotics Summit).

With these coordinated advances, West Palm Beach is setting a pragmatic model for technology-enabled governance, lifelong learning, and economic resilience for Florida and beyond.