The Implications of Wide Adoption of Smart Cities
My understanding of digital society is that it is the different ways in which societal norms, issues, challenges and weaknesses manifest and interact with each other digitally. This is an incredibly important topic to explore as technology directly affects people & societies both positively and negatively. It is also important to safeguard the interests of society within the digital/technological space as any environment left to it’s own vices is likely to become chaotic. There is a massive emphasis on improving technology however unfortunately a very little focus on the moral and ethical implications of the wide adoption of technology. In some instances the regulation of technology is seen as a potential waste of resources that would be better focused on innovation efforts. This line of thinking can be applied to and considered in the context of Smart Cities.
Smart Cities
Smart cities are urban areas that are largely monitored and managed by technological devices with the aim of achieving optimal resource allocation. This is often achieved through high camera surveillance, digital data collection and so on. Smart cities are able to achieve improved traffic management and transport systems, waste management, law enforcement and community services to name a few. Cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and many others have been able to achieve smart city status and implement these systems in a great way.
However, the push towards Smart Cities excludes a massive portion of the population and exposes them to high risks. I aim to explore these risks.
One of the biggest exclusions is developing economies/countries. A lot of developing economies do not have access to good quality technology, if at all. There are massive systemic issues that exist within developing countries preventing them from being able to achieve full adoption of technological systems. These issues include poverty, poor quality internet access due to lack of infrastructure, lack of technological education and skills, and so on. These countries need to be advocated for and defended as it may mean they may end up forgotten or unable to catch up. There needs to be a group of people with high influence who have made it their mission to do this & ensure the voices of people from developing countries are heard. It is also an important population to include as they are amongst the highest growing and most densely populated areas of the world. The exclusion of such a huge proportion of people leads to a massive disconnect between society and the rest of the world. it also may lead to a massive missed opportunity for innovation & entrpreneurial development that can directly impact these societies and the world at large. They deserve to be included in the goal of achieving smart cities and benefit.
Another potential risk area that comes with Smart Cities is that they exist within a profit driven context and society. This may lead to profit motives driving the decision-making in Smart Cities. Since Smart Cities collect a significant amount of data about the members of society, this may give large corporations and government access to information they typically would not have access to. For example, large corporations may be able to achieve monopolisation as they perhaps have enough bargaining power to purchase this data from monitoring bodies. This exposes people to the unfair practises of monopolies such as artificially inflated prices, hoarding of resources and unfair competition for competitors. They may also further increase inequalities in society. Lesser affluent areas may be subject to lower quality surveillance, higher exposure to the discrimination practiced by these surveillance techniques and many other issues. There needs to be a way of protecting the privacy of members of society in Smart Cities.
Although the goal of wide adoption of Smart Cities has the potential to drastically improve the quality of life of a lot of people through better traffic & transportation systems, law enforcement and etc, there are potential dangers to consider. The biggest one is the exclusion and practical challenges of achieving this in developing economies. The systemic challenges such as poverty, inequalities, lack of internet access and technological infrastructure mean the potential exclusion of a large population of people. It is important for the voices of people in developing countries to be advocated for and protected in these conversations. Smart Cities may also provide governments and large corporations with access to information that they typically would not have access to. This is a massive invasion of people’s privacy and may lead to an unfair competitive advantage and exploitation of consumers. Smart Cities without a doubt are a double-edged sword which has the power to improve but also harm the welfares of it’s members.
Reflection
This module has helped me improve my critical skills surrounding technology. I have learnt the value of criticising digital media (eg social media, online news articles, etc). Digital media is tailored to user preferences often times based on the user’s preferences and beliefs which is achieved through cookie collection. This creates echo chambers where individuals are more likely to interact with content & people who align closely to their beliefs & values leaving them unexposed to alternative perspectives. Considering the staggering time spent on social media especially be Gen-Z, this may lead to massive problems & challenges. This may leave users unable to peacefully coexist with people who have different views which is an important skill to navigate the real world. It also may lead to people having a false sense of (over)confidence in their own beliefs approaching arguments from a confrontational rather tan constructive approach. This harms the social fabric in society and may even lead to segregation. The male loneliness pandemic and it’s links to red pill content is a great example of this.
I have also learnt about technologies I did not know about, interesting use cases of technology as well as the mechanics of certain technological developments. An example of this is Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) which can be used as rehabilitation devices to restore or regain function, performance enhancers or research tools. My biggest takeaways from the many different forms of technology is the fact that it is not as intimidating/harmful as a lot of traditional media such as television and books makes it seem and that it can either be used as a force for good or evil.
Another one of the most apparent things this module has taught me about digital society is that a lot of the imperfections that exist within society are often times still present, if not amplified in digital society. Because technology is created by flawed, biased and discriminatory human beings, it tends to mimic these flaws. Furthermore, because technology lacks human emotional skills such as empathy, consideration and tact it may exhibit forms of discrimination in a more blunt or unforgiving manner.
An area I wish to explore is the implications that technology has on power & how members of society can be protected. In a tech-dominated world, do advanced technical skills & expertise provide you with a disproportionate amount of influence and power? How may this potentially impact decision-making processes, industries, politics and societal norms and values? How can we protect the people with less advanced technical skills from this especially considering the fact that technology is advancing at a faster rate than it can be regulated? All of these are important lessons learnt during this module and will definitely be helpful in future endeavours as I navigate my career, relationships and personal health.
