Soft Power, Hard Decisions
Last week we listened to Bianca Wylie, privacy advocate and smart cities critic, voice her concerns about Sidewalk Lab’s plan for Quayside. Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet (which is the parent company of Google), has envisioned creating a digital neighbourhood at Quayside on Lake Ontario. The proposal entails cutting edge urban design featuring tall timber buildings, affordable housing, and futuristic roadways. This “smart city” will feature sensors that collect data on residents to “improve their quality of life.” As stated by current technical advisor at Alphabet (and former Google CEO) Eric Schmidt, the company was thrilled that someone had finally decided to “give us a city and put us in charge.” This statement, and Sidewalk Labs subsequent actions, have not sit well with Bianca who has been a vocal opponent to the Quayside idea ever since. In particular, she spoke briefly about Sidewalk Lab’s use of “soft power,” which I would like to discuss in more detail.
According to Joseph Nye, former dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, “soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment.” He describes soft power as the act of co-opting and shaping the preferences of others to get desired outcomes. Soft power, he notes, is more than just seduction and persuasion it is “…the ability to entice and attract.” Sustainable living and affordable housing (!!!) promises were enticing enough for Waterfront TO to award the contract to Sidewalk Labs and potentially pawn off a large portion of Toronto’s waterfront for a massive corporate digital experiment. However, the question Bianca is rightly shouting from the rooftops, is what risks are associated with the City of Toronto ceding power to a massive private corporation like Alphabet?
I think the answer may lie partly in Nye’s work. Nye, whose work mostly concerns foreign policy, discusses how countries have used soft power to project and promote a positive image that creates an “…enabling environment for its policies.” This same concept can apply to private corporations like Alphabet, who are using grand promises and liberal values to push their agenda, which is to make money — and lots of it. However, the risk is that a city that creates an enabling environment for corporations to assert their agendas may cease to work in the public interest. This concern has been well-articulated by Bianca who particularly takes issue with the massive privacy and data concerns associated with the plan. Unfortunately, as discussed by Nye, “politics in an information age ‘may ultimately be about whose story wins’” and Sidewalk Labs is desperately trying to push their story. So how can a few concerned citizens possibly take on a massive corporation like Alphabet and win?
Luckily for them, I feel that Sidewalk Lab’s attempt at soft power is backfiring. We also visited Sidewalk Lab’s office that same day and I was unimpressed and a little suspicious of the corporation’s intentions. As discussed by Nye, “policies that appear as narrowly self-serving or arrogantly presented are likely to prohibit rather than produce soft power.” Sidewalk Lab’s plan, in my opinion, is far too self-serving and the corporation has come across as exceedingly arrogant.
That said, I am not quick to write off Sidewalk Lab’s chances at seeing their plan come to life, as they seem to be organizing a new soft power strategy to seduce Torontonians. Nye argues that diplomacy is a two-way street, that “exchanges” are more effective than “broadcasting,” and that understanding the target audience is key to exercising “smart power.” Sidewalk Labs has recently hired former Toronto City Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon as their Director of Community. The move is very strategic and clearly articulates that Sidewalk Labs is fully committing to using a soft power strategy to make Quayside a reality. Unfortunately, Torontonians will have to make some hard decisions very soon, and I sure hope that we will make the right one.
