Google wants it all: AI “smart city”
There are many examples of Google, a now mega-corporation in technology, pushing to be in control of tremendous amounts of data. One is the proposed Toronto AI smart-city, the brainchild of Sidewalk Labs.
Let’s start with the AI smart- city. In urban Toronto, more specifically Quayside, twelve acres of land is being developed under Google affiliate Alphabet Inc. The idea is to develop new infrastructure which runs on Google AI technology, making it more efficient, rapid-fire, and adaptable than a regular (non-AI) city. On the site of sidewalk laps, sidewalk Toronto brags about all the jobs the company anticipates will come as a result of the increased building up of the Quayside. With 44,000 jobs and $14.2 billion in annual economic impact, a person would be hard pressed to find a reason to disagree.
The land is managed by the partnership between Sidewalk Labs and Toronto Waterfront, an occurrence seldom seen in Canada. An interesting nugget of info centres on the CEO of Sidewalk Labs, Dan Doctoroff. He has experience as a CEO of Bloomberg L.P., is an ex deputy mayor of New York, and knows urban development.The fact that a New York businessman has so much say in development of a Canadian city is interesting, to say the least.
Even though, on the surface, the proposal for the 48,500-sq m site sounded like a dream come true for those seeking affordable, eco-friendly housing, many in Toronto expressed concern. One was Bianca Wylie, a disgruntled citizen who started Block Sidewalk. The group gathered in Toronto on the same day Doctoroff ditched a TED convention he was supposed to attend. Wylie cited a leak from the Toronto Star which alleged Sidewalk Labs was not celar on how much land exactly they intended on building up. It was more than just twelve acres, according to the documents. Also, more transit was planned to accommodate the increase in urban density.
Another major concern was data storage, because Google is know for it. David Townsend is an urban planner who writes books on smart cities. He believes the privatization of the online space is cascading into private-owned property, a concern with many working class people. Sidewalk labs proposed to place senors in key areas of the space, to collect data, making the residents of the area reportedly feel “safer.”
To quell fears, the spokesperon for Toronto Waterfront explained an evaluation process was underway, to make sure no unnecessary additions were acted on.
In June of 2019, it was reported that indeed, more than twelve acres was in the works. Sidewalk not only wants to make the Quayside functional on an advanced power grid, but it also reaches for the goal of constructing a Google Canada headquarters on the 20-acre Villiers West site. If the two sites (Quay and West Villers) are a grand slam, then up to 190 acres more could be taken over.
The Toronto City council and Waterfront Board will have to agree on the plan by winter of 2020, in order for Sidewalk to actually start doing any development. What is troubling is the fact Sidewalk don’t even plan on spending their own money for development. On the somewhat bright side, profit sharing between the affiliate and the city was set at ten per cent.
Sources:
https://www.wri.org/profile/daniel-doctoroff
