BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jorge Cardenas, chief information officer for the City of Brownsville, has provided more details on his department’s upcoming conference about integrating AI.
The workshop is titled: Smart City Innovation: AI Solutions Transforming South Texas.
The event takes place at the Brownsville Events Center from 12:00 noon to 6:30 p.m. on May 6, 2026.
Cardenas said the plan is to connect leaders, spark ideas, and transform communities.
“Join us in Brownsville, TX, for an engaging in-person event spotlighting how the City of Brownsville is leading the way in smart city innovation. Discover how advanced AI-driven solutions are strengthening border security, modernizing infrastructure, and elevating emergency response across the region. Gain firsthand insights from visionary leaders and technology experts who are reshaping South Texas—and explore how your community can join this groundbreaking transformation,” Cardenas said.
Among the high-tech companies participating in the workshop are SHI, Centific, Lenovo, and Nvidia.
SHI International Corporation is a major global IT solutions provider and technology reseller, specializing in software, hardware, cloud, and security services.
Centific is a global digital and technology services company specializing in AI data solutions, data engineering, and human-centric AI evaluation.
Lenovo is a global technology leader ranking 196th in the Fortune Global 500, recognized for manufacturing computers, tablets, smartphones (Motorola), and servers.
Nvidia is a premier American technology company and a global leader in AI computing, accelerated computing, and GPU technology.
Cardenas first revealed details of the conference in an interview with the RGG Business Journal. He said there would be a World Cup connection. He said the City of Frisco, Texas, will be sending its IT specialists to the workshop. Asked why this is, Cardenas said: “Because Frisco is going to be involved in the World Cup. They have been asking a lot about camera analytics, and we're doing a lot of that here, with crowd monitoring.”
Sweden has selected Frisco as its base camp for the World Cup.
Cardenas said he hoped other cities in the Rio Grande Valley could learn from how the City of Brownsville is incorporating AI into its programs and projects.
“We are inviting all IT departments in the region all the way from Mission to Brownsville. We are going to explain how they can leverage our own infrastructure for the betterment of their communities,” Cardenas told the Business Journal.
Here is the agenda for the event:
Editor's Note: Jorge Cardenas recently participated in an RGG Business Journal podcast that focused on the City of Brownsville's rollout of lightning-fast fibert internet. Click here to watch the podcast.
